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AMERICAN 


NORMAL    SCHOOLS: 

AS   E]S;:OT  fEU    JNT    '       E 

PROCEEDINGS 

iJllSl    ANjNUAL    COi,TEl(TIOK 

OF    THE 

^T^-ilCAX   NORMAL   SCHOOL  ASSOCIATION, 

HELD  AT  TREFTOIvr,   NEW  JERSEY, 

AUGUST  19  AND  SO,  1859. 


NEW  YORK : 
PUBLISHED  BY  A.  S.  BAENES  &  BURE, 


51    Axu    53    JOHN    STllEET. 
1860. 


11-- 


University  of  California. 


FROM  THE   LIBRARY  OF 

Dr.  JOSEPH   LeCONTE. 

GIFT  OF  MRS.   LECONTE. 

No, 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arcinive 

in  2007  witii  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/americannormalscOOamerrich 


PROCEEDINaS 


OF  THE 


FIRST  AMERICAN 

NORMAL  SCHOOL  CONYENTIOK 


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or 


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AMERICAN 

NORMAL    SCHOOLS: 

AS   EMBODIED   IN   THE 

PROCEEDINGS 

OF   THE 

FIRST    AJ(i\UAL    CONVENTION 

OF   THE 

AMERICAN  NORMAL   SCHOOL  ASSOCIATION, 

HELD  AT  TRENTON",   NEW  JERSEY, 

AUGUST  19  AND  20,  1859. 


NEW  YORK : 
PUBLISHED  BY  A.  S.  BARNES  &  BURR, 

51    AND    53    JOHN    STREET. 
1860. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Letter  from  Hon.  Edward  Everett 

S.  S.  Randall,  Esq 

Address  of  the  President 17 

Prof.  Crosby's  Paper < 19 

Discuss^ioN.— Remarks  of  Hon.  Geo.  B.  Emerson — Hon.  Richard  S.  Field — 
Rev.  Dr.  McJilton— Prof.  Phelps— Prof.  John  S.  Hart— Mr.  Greenleaf 
—Mr.  J.  W.  Dickinson— Prof.  S.  M.  Hamill— Prof.  J.  P.  Wickersham 

—Rev.  B.  G.  Northrop— Gen.  H.  K.  Oliver— G.  N.  Bigelow,  Esq 36 

Election  of  Officers 47 

Discussion. — Remarks  of  Prof.  Phelps— Gov.  Boutwell — Prof  C.  E.  Hovey 
— Mr.  Emerson— Prof.  Crosby — Prof.  D.  P.  Colburn — Mr.  Peckham- 
Mr.  Dickinson — Mr.  Rowe— Prof.  D.  N.  Camp — Mr.  F.  A.  Sawyer — 

Dr.  E.  C.  Wines-  Prof.  Wickersham— Dr.  McJilton— Prof.  Hart 47 

Prof.  Ogden's  Paper 60 

Mr.  Edwabds'  Paper 73 

Ihscussiojsr. — Remarks  of  Prof  Camp — Mr.  N.  T.  Allen — Mr.  Hollister — 
Prof.  Wickersham— Prof.  Phelps— Prof  G.  N.  Bigelow— Hon.  Geo.  B. 

Emerson — Mr.  Ogden 90 

Reports  of  States 97 

Discussion. — Remarks  of  the  President— Mr.  Dickinson— Dr.  McJilton — 
Mr.  Parish— Mr,  Emerson — Mr.  Northrop— Prof.  D.  N.  Camp — Mr. 
Ogden— Prof.  D.  P.  Colburn— Prof.  Wickersham— Prof  Smith— Prof. 
Hovey — Mr.  Silas  Betts— Prof  Phelps— Mr.  Rowe— Gen.  Oliver— Prof 

Crosby— Hon.  Henry  Barnard 98 

Report  of  Committee  on  Resolutions 106 

Resolutions  with  reference  to  the  Life,  and  Labors,  and  Death  of  Horace 

Mann 107 

Remarks  of  Gen.  H.  K.  Oliver— Ariel  Parish,  Esq.— Hon,  Henry  Barnard 

— Hon.  Anson  Smyth 107 

Letter  of  Horace  Mann 112 


ji  r'  {r%  f^  ^ 


EEMAKKS    PREFATORY. 


The  first  meeting  of  the  officers  of  the  Normal  Schools  of  our  country- 
was  held  informally  in  connection  with  that  of  the  American  Association 
for  the  Advancement  of  Education  in  the  city  of  ]N"ew  York  in  1855.  Tiiis 
meeting  was  private  in  its  character,  and  was  devoted  to  a  free  inter- 
change of  views  and  opinions  on  subjects  connected  with  the  practical 
working  of  our  Normal  Schools. 

A  second  meeting  was  held  at  Springfield,  in  August,  1856,  imme- 
diately succeeding  the  session  of  the  American  Institute  of  Instruction. 
The  discussions  on  this  occasion  were  pubftc  and  were  of  an  exceedingly 
interesting  and  instructive  character.  The  Normal  Schools  of  Massachu- 
setts, Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Canada 
were  severally  represented  at  the  Springfield  meeting,  and  measures  were 
there  taken  to  perfect  a  permanent  organization  of  the  principals,  teach- 
ers, and  friends  of  these  institutions  for  the  promotion  of  their  peculiar 
interests.  A  committee  was  raised  to  prepare  a  constitution  to  be  re- 
ported at  the  next  meeting,  and  to  perfect  arrangements  for  the  future. 

The  third  meeting  convened  at  Albany  in  1857,  cotemporaneously  with 
that  of  the  American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Education. 
Owing  to  a  misunderstanding  as  to  the  time  and  place,  this  meeting  was 
an  entirely  informal  one,  and  but  few  were  present. 

The  fourth  meeting  occurred  at  Norwich,  Conn.,  in  August,  1858.  It 
was  small,  but  earnest  in  its  spirit  and  purpose.  The  constitution  was 
reported  and  adopted,  and  permanent  officers  were  elected.  A  discussion 
arose  as  to  the  n^ost  effective  means  for  advancing  the  objects  of  the  Associ- 
ation. The  conclusion  reached  was  unanimously  favorable  to  a  conven- 
tion of  all  interested  in  the  cause  of  Normal  Schools  to  be  held  at  Trenton, 
New  Jersey,  in  August,  1859.  In  accordance  with  this  conclusion,  the 
First  Annual  Convention  of  the  Association,  whose  proceedings  are  here- 
with published,  took  place  as  above  stated. 

By  the  unanimous  desire  of  the  friends  of  the  movement,  the  plans  and 
elevations  of  the  principal  Normal  School  buildings  are  embodied  in  this 
publication.  It  is  earnestly  hoped  that  the  proceedings  will  tend  to 
awaken  a  greater  degree  of  interest  in  behalf  of  these  noble  institutions 
than  has  heretofore  obtained  throughout  our  country.  . 


vill  LETTERS. 

Tlia  subjoined  are  a  few  of  the  many  letters  received  from  eminent 
frienids  of  education  heartily  approving  of  the  object'^  of  the  Convention : 

[copy.] 
From  the  Hon.  Edward  Everett. 

Boston,  \%th  Sept.,  1859. 

My  Dear  Sir — I  have  received  your  favor  of  the  5th  instant.  Inces- 
sant occupations  of  a  very  pressing  nature  liave  prevented  an  earlier 
refjly,  and  now  put  it  out  of  my  power  to  enlarge  upon  the  subject  of 
Normal  Schools.  The  time,  however,  is  gone  by  when  they  stood  in 
need  of  any  testimonies  to  their  value  and  importance. 

The  success  which  has  attended  these  institutions  in  diiferent  parts  of 
tl)e  country—  and  nowhere  probably  more  than  in  New  Jersey — has 
spoken  with  an  emphasis  in  their  favor  which  needs  no  confirmation. 
The  community  perceives  and  admits  that  if  education  is  one  of  the  most 
important  concerns  of  society — most  closely  connected,  not  only  with  its 
material  prosperity,  but  with  its  highest  moral  interests,  it  ought  to  be 
tJie  subject  of  skillful  and  systematic  training  and  preparation.  Other- 
wise we  should  be  involved  in  the  absurdity  that  those  operations,  influ- 
ences, and  processes  which  form  the  best  preparation  for  all  the  great  pur- 
suits and  duties  of  life,  could  thi^mselves  be  applied  and  administered  with- 
out previous  discipline.  It  was  my  privilege  and  good  fortune,  while 
Governor  of  Massachusetts,  to  co-oj)erate  in  the  establishment  of  the 
Normal  Schools  in  this  State,  and  my  views  of  the  importance  of  these 
institutions  are  expressed,  at  some  length,  in  a  discourse  delivered  at  the 
inauguration  of  one  of  them  in  1839,  and  which  will  be  found  in  the 
printed  collection  of  my  public  addresses. 

I  remain,  dear  sir,  with  much  respect,  very  truly,  yours, 

Wm.  F.  Phelps,  Esq.  Edward  Everett. 

From  S.  S.  Randall,  Fsq. 
City  Supkrintendent's  Office,  New  York,  Aug.  8,  1859. 

"Wm.  F.  Phelps,  A.M.,  Pres.  Am.  Normal  School  Association:  Bear 
Sir — I  regret  exceedingly  tliat  the  state  of  my  health  will  not  permit  me 
to  be  pi-esent  at  the  ensuing  meeting  of  the  Association  over  which  you 
have  the  honor  to  preside.  The  objects  of  that  Association  have  my 
hearty  concurrence  and  high  appreciation.  The  great  want  of  the  age, 
in  the  educational  field,  is  unc^uestionably  a  class  of  thoroughly  trained, 
practical,  professional  teachers;  and  these,  in  my  judgment,  can  be  pro- 
vided only  through  the  agency  of  institutions  expressly  prepared  for  and 
exclusively  devoted  ti>  that  purpose.  Much,  indeed,  has  already  been  ac- 
complished in  this  direction  in  our  own  country,  and  the  standard  of 
qualification  required  of  teachers  generally  has  been  sensibly  elevated 
within  the  past  ten  years.  Much,  however — very  much — remains  yet  to 
be  attained,  and  I  trust  the  intelligent  and  devoted  body  of  gentlemen 
composing  your  Association  will  not  cease  their  labors  until  some  sys- 
tcinatic  and  comprehensive  plan  shall  have  been  devised  for  the  accom- 
l»lishment  of  the  great  object  they  have  in  view. 

One  great  defect,  as  it  seems  to  me,  in  all,  or  nearly  all  our  existing 
institutions  for  the  preparation  of  teachers,  is  the  devotion  of  so  large  a 
{iortion  of  the  cause  to  mere  elementary  instruction — to  the  acquisition 


LETTERS.  IX 

of  the  various  branches  of  study  required  to  be  taught.  In  tlie  earlier 
stages  of  Normal  instruction  this  was  unavoidable  and  indispensable. 
Has  not  the  period,  however,  arrived,  or  may  we  not,  at  least,  look  for- 
ward to  its  speedy  arrival,  when  all  these  details  may  be  required  and 
insisted  upon  as  a  condition  precedent  to  admission  in  these  institutions'? 
Should  not  the  Normal  course  be  purely  Normal,,  as  its  name  imports,  and 
be  restricted,  or  rather  expanded,  to  its  legitimate  objects,  the  art  and 
science  of  teaching?  Is  there  not  here  full  and  ample  scope  for  the  expe- 
rience, talents,  and  practical  abilities  of  the  highest  order  of  mind  spread 
over  the  utmost  available  length  of  time  that  can  be  devoted  to  this  pur- 
pose ?  And  should  the  efforts  and  energy  of  the  professors  and  teachers 
of  these  institutions  be  suffered  to  be  longer  frittered  away  for  months 
and  years  in  mere  comnmnication  of  that  scientific  knowledge  which  can 
equally  well  be  obtained  from  the  high  school  or  the  academy,  and  the 
possession  of  which  should  be  regarded  as  the  indispensable  available 
capital  of  the  student  on  his  entrance  into  the  Normal  Hall  ? 

This  solid  and  substantial  foundation  having  been  previously  laid,  the 
ability  to  communicate  the  knowledge  thus  obtained  in  all  its  details  in  the 
most  skillful,  efficient,  and  judicious  manner,  will  constitute  a  prominent 
and  important — though,  in  my  judgment,  not  the  most  prominent  or  im- 
portant— portion  of  Normal  teaching.  Education  embraces  within  its 
purview  something  of  infinitely  greater  consequence  than  the  communi- 
cation of  knowledge,  however  thorough  and  comprehensive.  Its  essen- 
tial value  consists  in  the  formation,  development,  and  direction  of  charac- 
ter;  and  so  far,  and  so  far  only,  as  it  fulfills  this  its  great  mission,  is  it  of 
any  real  or  practical  value.  And  when  I  speak  of  character  in  this  con- 
nection, I  mean  something  more  than  external  appearance — the  disguises 
of  life — the  mask  of  the  mere  actor  on  the  stage  of  human  events.  I 
refer  to  the  real,  the  interior,  the  essential  cliaracter — the  immoi'tal  and 
spiritual  being  itself — that  which  exists  from  tiie  innermost  heart — that 
which  in  the  deepest  recesses  of  our  nature  impels  every  motive  and  orig- 
inates every  action  of  our  lives — that  which  in  the  long  run  makes  us 
what  we  are,  and  which  is  destined  to  accompany  us  throughout  the  lim- 
itless future.  AVith  this  it  is  the  teacher's  business  and  duty  to  deal ;  and 
for  this,  with  whatever  expenditure  of  cost  or  pains,  he  should  be  pre- 
pared. I  need  not  enlarge  upon  the  vast  and  varied  field  here  opened  up 
to  the  Normal  teacher,  nor  expatiate  at  greater  length  upon  its  import- 
ance and  the  solemn  responsibilities  it  involves.  To  me  it  seems  the  only 
worthy  object  of  ambition  and  attainment.  I  would  have  every  teacher 
graduated  at  our  Normal  halls,  approximate  as  nearly  as  may  be  to  the 
exalted  standard  of  an  Arnold  and  a  Page,  and  in  proportion  to  the  num- 
ber of  such  teachers  sent  forth  annually  into  the  field  of  educational  labor 
should  I  feel  disposed  to  estimate  the  value  or  the  success  of  the  institu- 
tion. 

I  can  not  permit  myself  to  conclude  this  already  too  extended  commu- 
nication without  mingling  my  deepest  sympathies  with  those  of  the  body 
you  represent,  and  of  the  friends  of  education  everywhere,  on  the  lament- 
ed death  of  the  great  and  good  Horace  Mann.  That  we  shall  no  more 
listen  to  his  eloquent  voice — no  more  mingle  with  him  in  council — no 
more  co-operate  with  Inm  in  those  expansive  and  comprehensive  views 
which  embraced  the  highest  possible  perfection  of  our  common-  human- 
ity, through  free  and  universal  education — that  our  spirits  and  our  ener- 


X  LETTERS. 

gies  are  no  longer  to  be  elevated,  exalted,  pui-ified,  and  strengthened  by 
the  electric  influence  of  his  living  voice  and  the  "daily  beauty"  of  his- 
noble  example — these  are  indeed  melancholy  reflections.  Let  us,  how- 
ever, reverently  and  aifectionately  cherish  his  memory,  and  endeavor,  so 
far  as  in  us  lies,  to  follow  in  his  footsteps,  and  imitate  his  all-embracing 
philanthropy,  his  ardent  aspirations  for  excellence,  and  the  genuine  purity 
of  his  stainle&s  life.    Very  respectfully  and  truly  yours, 

S.  S.  Randall. 


AMERICAN 

NOEIAL   SCHOOL   CONYENTION. 


The  American  Normal  School  Association  convened  in  the 
new  hall  of  the  Normal*  School  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  on  Wednesday, 
Aug.  17,  1859,  and  was  opened  with  prayer  by  Rev.  Edward  D. 
Yeomans. 

The  President,  Wm.  F.  Phelps,  Esq.,  welcomed  the  Association 
to  Trenton,  and  offered  the  following  remarks  as  to  the  plan  and 
purpose  of  the  meeting  : 

ADDRESS    OF    THE    PRESIDENT. 

The  President  then  said  :  In  the  multiplicity  of  educa- 
tional associations  with  which  our  country  abounds,  it  seems 
necessary  to  offer  some  reasons  and  explanations  for  adding 
to  the  number.  I  will  therefore  endeavor  to  state,  as  nearly 
as  possible,  some  of  the  objects  for  which  this  Convention 
is  called  at  this  time. 

It  is  a  commonplace  truth,  that  the  great  want  of  our 
country  is  that  of  an  efficient  system  of  popular  education. 
It  is  also  self-evident  that  universal  education  is  possible 
only  through  the  universal  diffusion  of  a  system  of  well-con- 
ducted schools.  It  is  further  admitted,  that  the  teachers  make 
tlie  schools;  that  "as  is  the  teacher,  so  will  be  the  school." 

After  a  somewhat  varied  experience  of  two  hundred  years 
and  more,  we  find  that  still  the  great  want  of  our  schools  is 
that  of  truly  qualified  teachers.     As  a  consequence  of  that 


18  AMERICAN   NORMAL    SCHOOL   CONVENTION. 

state  of  facts,  the  enlightened  friends  of  education  in  our 
country,  something  more  than  twenty  years  ago,  moved  for 
the  establishment  of  Normal  Schools,  as  they  are  called  ; 
otherwise  better  known  as  Teachers'  Seminaries,  whose 
objects  should  be  the  special,  thorough  training  of  teachers. 
After  this  experience  of  twenty  years,  the  friends  of  these 
institutions  have  become  fully  satisfied  that  upon  them  must 
we  depend  for  the  supply  of  this  great  want. 

The  educational  statistics  of  this  country,  so  far  as  we  can 
master  them,  exhibit  some  startling  facts  ;  among  these,  is 
this,  that  the  great  majority  of  the  teachers  in  the  common 
schools  are  utterly  unfit  for  their  high  and  responsible  du- 
ties. Our  higher  institutions,  academies,  ancl,  to  some 
extent,  our  colleges,  have  been  relied  upon  to  supply  this 
want.  But  experience  has  taught  us  that  that  reliance  for 
a  full  supply  is  vain. 

We  have,  therefore,  but  one  resource  left ;  and  to  the 
Normal  Schools  of  the  country  do  the  thoughts  of  tlie  friends 
of  education  inevitably  turn.  We  -find  that  we  are  now 
warranted  in  making  an  ao-orressive  movement  in  favor  of 
Normal  Schools.  To  inaugurate  this  movement,  this  Con- 
vention has  been  called — to  advertise,  to  popularize  Normal 
Schools ;  for,  after  all,  the  great  mass  of  the  people  know 
little  and  understand  less  in  respect  to  them.  AYhat  this 
meeting  hopes  to  accomplish  is,  to  make  our  people  better 
acquainted  with  them. 

Another  purpose,  and  perhaps  a  more  important  one,  is 
that  of  improving  the  character  of  those  whicli  already 
exist,  and  those  which  may  hereafter  be  established  ;  and 
by  improvement,  I  mean  to  be  understood  that  our  object  is 
to  make  them  more  fully  answer  their  true,  original  design, 
that  of  preparing  professional  teachers. 

There  is  but  one  way  of  salvation  for  the  Normal  Schools, 


REMARKS   OF   THE    PRESIDENT.  19 

and  tliat  is,  they  must  be  truly  professional  schools  for  train- 
ing teaciiers.  The  difference  between  them  and  the  ordi- 
nary literary  institutions  of  our  country  must  be  so  marked 
that  ''  he  who  runs  may  read."  I  think  that  wherever  they 
have  failed,  the  explanation  may  be  found  in  the  fact  that 
they  have  not  been  normal,  not  professional  enough  to 
commend  themselves  to  the  common  sense  of  our  people. 

The  great  object  of  the  Convention  will  be  to  discuss 
practical  measures,  the  adoption  of  which  will  enable  us  to 
realize  more  fully  the  true  objects  for  which  these  institu- 
tions are  established. 

The  Presedent  then  stated  what  the  order  of  exercises  would  be, 
viz  ,  the  reading  of  certain  papers  by  gentlemen  who  had  been  desig- 
nated, and  discussions  upon  them. 

Messrs.  Crosby,  Hovey,  and  Colburn  were  appointed  a  committee 
on  nominations. 

Prof.  Alpheus  Crosby,  of  the  Salem  Normal  School,  Mass.,  was 
then  introduced,  who  read  the  following  paper  on  the  "  Proper  Sphere 
and  Work  of  the  American  Normal  School.^' 

Mr.  President,  and  Gentlemen  and  Ladies  of  the 
Association  :  If  I  were  allowed  to  enter  upon  the  discussion 
of  a  theme  so  broad  as  this,  and  so  fundamental  to  the  inves- 
tigations for  which  we  have  assembled,  with  carte  hlanche  as 
to  limits,  I  know  not  how  much  of  your  time  and  of  my  own 
I  should  feel  bound  to  consume  in  an  attempt  to  do  my  sub- 
ject justice.  But  I  have  been  wisely,  and  I  feel,  no  less 
kindly,  restricted  to  twenty-five  minutes.  There  is,  then, 
but  one  alternative  :  either  to  select  from  the  many  points 
that  claim  attention  one  or  two  only  for  a  somewhat  full 
treatment ;  or,  on  the  other  hand,  to  place  before  you  a 
simple  outline  of  the  subject  in  its  principal  parts  for  you 
to  fill  up,  in  your  subsequent  remarks,  with  the  coloring 
of  beauty — to  present  a  skeleton  for  your  to  cover  with  flesh 


20  AMERICAN    NORMAL    SCHOOL    CONVENTION. 

and  inspire  witli  life.  The  latter  course  seeins  to  me  to  cor- 
respond the  better  with  the  proper  design  of  such  an  intro- 
ductory paper  as  I  have  been  requested  to  prepare.  If  the 
bones  thus  presented  should  seem,  like  those  in  the  valley 
of  the  prophet's  vision,  very  dry,  bear  this  patiently,  antic- 
ipating their  reanimation,  when  breath  after  breath  from 
those  around  shall  blow  upon  them. 

First,  then,  what  is  the  essential  difference  hetween  a  Nor- 
mal School  and  other  Schools  f 

Institutions  of  learning  may  obviously  be  divided  into 
two  great  classes — the  general,  and  the  professional ;  the 
former  including  the  common  school,  high  school,  academy, 
and  college,  as  these  terms  are  usually  employed  ;  and  the 
latter,  theological,  law,  and  medical  scliools,  military  and 
naval  institutions,  and  schools  of  agriculture,  commerce, 
mechanics,  mining,  the  fine  arts,  etc.  It  is  evident  that  the 
jSTormal  School  belongs  to  the  latter  of  these  classes,  the 
professional,  having  been  established  not  merely  for  the 
general  discipline  or  culture  of  those  who  may  attend  it, 
but  for  their  special  preparation  to  meet  the  demands  of  a 
particular  profession,  that  of  the  Teacher,  or,  to  use  the 
broader  and  more  strictly  appropriate  term,  of  the  Edu- 
cator. Whatever  characteristics,  then,  belong  to  the  pro- 
fessional school,  as  distinguished  from  the  institution  of 
general  learning,  must  belong  to  this,  and  these  character- 
istics must  be  still  farther  modified  by  the  peculiar  nature 
and  office  of  the  great  profession  for  wliich  it  aims  to  pre- 
pare. It  ought  obviously  to  have  the  definiteness  of  pur- 
pose, the  thoroughness,  the  scientific  basis,  and  the  practical 
applications  which  are  so  essential  to  the  very  idea  of  a 
proper  professional  school,  where  the  question  is  not  re- 
specting academic  prizes,  or  general  accomplishment,  but 
success  and  usefulness  in  the  career  of  life. 


21 

But,  ill  the  second  place,  how  does  the  American  Normal 
School  differ  from  Normal  Schools  in  other  countries  f 

The  general  object  of  the  European  ISTormal  School  may, 
it  seems  to  me,  be  stated  thus  :  to  take  young  men  or  boys  of 
the  lower  classes  and  of  very  moderate  previous  attainments, 
and,  by  a  course  of  appropriate  exercises,  to  drill  them  into  a 
preparation  for  conducting,  according  to  a  prescribed  rou- 
tine, schools  for  the  limited  education  of  these  lower  classes, 
great  pains  being  taken  to  inculcate  the  spirit,  principles, 
and  habits  suitable  to  the  humble  but  very  useful  station 
which  they  are  to  occupy.  In  this  station  they  are  gen- 
erally expected,  without  essential  change  or  hope  of  change, 
to  continue,  repeating  the  beaten  round,  through  life ;  and 
appointments  to  particular  places  usually  enianate  from  the 
same  authority  that  sustains  the  Normal  Schools.  The 
pupil  in  one  of  these  schools  is  an  apprentice  to  the  State 
or  to  the  Society  which  will  afterward,  if  his  course  is  sat- 
isfactory— if  he  is  faithful  in  performing  the  work  set  before 
him,  and  does  not  insist  upon  thinking  unduly  for  himself — 
furnish  him  with  employment.  This  employment  is  neither 
very  lucrative  nor  very  honorable,  yet  in  both  these  respects 
is  an  advance  upon  the  position  which  otherwise  he  would 
probably  have  occupied. 

When  we  look  at  our  own  Normal  Schools,  how  strikingly 
diverse,  in  many  particulars,  is  the  view  presented  !  What 
a  difierence  in  respect  to  general  activity  of  mind,  inde- 
pendence of  thought,  amount  of  varied  information,  aspira- 
tions in  life  !  The  pupils  are  from  no  particular  grades  in 
society,  and  are  least  of  all  from  those  families  which  would 
be  accounted  lowest  in  social  position.  Many  come  to  us, 
we  complain,  with  quire  inadequate  preliminary  attain- 
ments— yet  inadequate,  we  must  remember,  according  to 
our  standard,  and  not  the  European — while,  on  the  other 


22  AMERICAN   NORMAL    SCHOOL   CONVENTION. 

hand,  there  are  tliose  who  enter  our  Normal  Schools,  after 
the  fullest  and  richest  culture  of  excellent  High  Schools  and 
Academies,  bringing  with  them  an  amount  of  knowledge — 
I  do  not  say  of  mere  professional  discipline — far  superior 
to  that  which  most  of  the  graduates  of  European  Normal 
Schools  carry  away  with  them. 

In  respect  to  plans  for  life,  how  much  less  of  uniformity 
in  our  schools  !  The  students  are  proposing  to  teach,  some 
in  primary  schools,  others  in  grammar  schools,  and  others 
yet  in  high  schools  or  academies  ;  and  they  will  go  forth,  not 
to  occupy  stations  designed  for  them  by  those  who  have  had 
charge  of  their  education,  but  either  to  make  places  for  them- 
selves, or  to  obtain  them  from  Educational  Boards  or  Com- 
mittees having  no  connection  with  the  school  of  their  train- 
ing, not  recognizing,  it  may  be,  the  diploma  of  the  school  as 
of  any  validity,  and  sometimes  even  subjecting  its  possessor 
to  an  examination  of  extraordinary  severity,  as  if  for  tlie 
express  purpose  of  testing  the  diploma. 

Even  upon  the  simple  entrance  of  one  of  our  Normal 
Schools,  how  strange  is  the  scene  to  a  Eu'ropean  eye  !  The 
seats  are  chiefly — in  some  schools  wholly — occupied  by 
women,  that  sex  which,  upon  the  continent  of  Europe,  is 
almost  entirely  excluded,  so  far  as  formal  provision  is  made, 
from  that  work  which  is  its  great  birthright,  the  work  of 
education  ;  and  even  in  the  British  Isles,  is  only  admitted 
to  a  small  participation  in  it.  Recent  statistics  of  the  State 
Normal  Schools,  in  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States,  give  the 
following  results.      In  the  State  Normal  Schools  of 

Massachusetts 77  Males 875  Females 

Ehode  Island 25       "      75 

Connecticut 84      "      202        " 

New  York 94      "      198        " 

New  Jersey 81      '♦      87        ** 

311  937 


28 

The  summary  presents  the  extraordinary  proportion  of 
937  females  to  311  males,  or  more  than  three  to  one.  And 
this  proportion  would  be  rendered  still  more  dispropor- 
tionate if  we  should  add  the  number  of  pupils  in  the  City 
Normal  Schools  of  Boston  and  Philadelphia,  to  which  only 
females  are  admitted. 

To  illustrate  the  corresponding  movement  in  our  com- 
munity with  respect  to  the  employment  of  female  teachers, 
it  may  be  sufficient  to  compare  the  statistics  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts public  schools,  as  they  appear  with  an  intervening 
period  of  twenty-one  years.  In  the  year  1836-7,  there  were 
employed  in  the  public  scliools  of  Massachusetts  (counting 
the  teachers  of  summer  and  of  winter  schools  separately,  as 
the  summary  was  then  n)ade  out,  ahd  omitting  eleven  of 
the  smaller  towns  which  failed  to  report)  2,370  male  teach- 
ers, and  3,591  female  teachers.  Of  the  latter,  however, 
only  856  were  employed  in  the  winter,  and.  of  these  119 
were  in  the  city  of  Boston.  In  the  year  1857-8,  there  were 
employed  (counting  the  number  as  before)  1,981  male  teach- 
ers, showing  a  decrease  of  389,  and  7,992  female  teachers, 
showing  an  increase  of  4,401,  or  the  number  more  than 
doubled.  And  whereas  before  only  856  female  teachers 
were  employed  in  the  winter,  now  3,482  were  employed,  or 
more  than  four  times  the  tirst  number.  The  propriety  of 
this  change,  which  is  not  at  all  conlined  to  Massachusetts, 
and  which  I  believe  to  be  heralding  a  still  greater  change 
fraught  with  blessing  to  mankind,  1  have  no  time  now  to 
argue. 

Nor  have  I  time  to  show  how,  as  it  seems  to  me,  the  prev- 
alent misapprehensions  in  the  community  with  respect  to 
Normal  Scliools,  and  the  chief  mistakes  or  imperfections  in 
their  management,  have  arisen  mainly  from  a  failure  to  con- 
sider or  to  appreciate  the  essential  distinction  between  the 


24  AMERICAN   NORMAL    SCHOOL    CONVENTION. 

formal  and  other  Schools,  or  the  important  differences  be- 
tween the  American  and  the  European  Normal  School.* 

'"'  May  I  be  permitted  to  add  an  extract  from  the  Semi-annual  Report  made 
July  22,  1858,  to  the  Board  of  Visitors  for  the  State  Normal  School  at  Salem, 
Mass.  ? 

"  In  our  daily  exercises,  we  have  endeavored  to  keep  constantly  in  view  the 
peculiar  object  of  the  Normal  School,  as  presented  in  the  Address  delivered 
at  the  inauguration  of  our  institution.  I  have  regretted  that  those  peculiar 
features  of  our  school,  having  reference  to  this  object,  which  are  so  prominent 
in  our  daily  work,  should  have  so  little  prominence  in  our  public  examina- 
tions. It  seems  to  me  worthy  of  consideration,  whether  it  would  not  be 
practicable  so  to  modify  our  examinations  that  they  should  more  fully  repre- 
sent the  distinctive  character  of  the  school,  and  show  more  adequately  not 
only  what  progress  its  pupils  have  made  in  the  dilferent  branches  of  science, 
what  general  facility  of  communication  they  have  acquired,  and  what  opin- 
ions they  have  formed  respecting  education  and  school  methods,  but  also  the 
still  more  direct  practical  preparation  which  they  have  made  toward  their 
specitic  work  of  teaching  others  what  they  themselves  know.  If  the  time  which 
I  may  be  permitted  to  occupy  in  this  crowded  afternoon  were  not  restricted 
to  such  narrow  limits,  I  should  be  tempted  to  go  beyond  this  mere  sugges- 
tion, and  to  endeavor  to  show,  though  certainly.  Gentlemen  of  the  Board,  not 
for  your  sakes,  how  very  peculiar  is  the  appropriate  work  of  the  Normal 
School,  and  what  advantages  it  possesses  for  the  accomplishment  of  this,  its 
own  work,  above  other  institutions,  however  high  may  be  their  reputation 
and  great  their  excellence  in  their  own  wide  spheres,  however  liberally  they 
may  be  endowe;!  or  supported,  and  however  able  and  eminent  may  be  their 
teachers. 

'•  The  Normal  School  does  not  present  itself  as  a  competitor  with  other 
schools,  either  for  public  pq,tronage  or  for  the  attendanee  of  pupils.  It  would 
not  divert  to  itself  the  least  portion  of  the  support  and  favor  which,  in  this 
enlightened  community,  are  so  wisely  bestowed  upon  other  schools.  It  ^vould 
not  say  to  any  students,  '  Come  to  us,  rather  than  go  to  those  schools  ;' 
but,  on  the  contrary,  '  Go  to  those  schools  if  you  can,  and  avail  yourselves 
as  fully  as  possible  of  their  rich  advantages  ;  and  then,  when  you  have  thor- 
oughly completed  their  courses  of  study  and  acquired  maturity  and  discipline 
Gf  mind,  if  you  wish  to  become  teacliers,  come  to  us,  and  engage  for  our  brief 
term,  with  the  aid  and  companionship  of  others  having  the  same  end  in  view, 
or  already  in  the  work,  in  the  special  study  of  the  philosophy  and  art  of 
teaching,  and  in  practical  exercises  tending  to  an  immediate  preparation  for 
this  noble  work.  The  larger  stores  of  knowledge  you  have  acquired  before 
you  come  to  us,  the  better  you  will  appreciate  and  improve  the  advantages 
and  opportunities  which  you  will  here  find.'  Allow  me  to  add  the  remark, 
that  the  aims  and  sphere  of  the  Normal  School  have  been  sometimes  misun- 
derstood from  the  very  cffirts  which  it  has  been  obliged  to  make,  to  supply 
4he  want  of  an  adequate  preliminary  training  in  many  who  have  entered  its 
classes." 


25 

Keeping  this  distinction  and  these  differences  in  view,  let 
us  inquire,  thirdly,  What  should  he  the  regular  course  of  study 
in  an  American  Normal  School  f 

It  seems  obvious  that  any  course  of  professional  training 
which  is  not  merely  mechanical  or  empirical,  must  have  for 
its  basis  a  thorough  consideration  of  the  principles  of  the 
profession,  of  its  philosophy,  and  that  this  should  underlie 
and  give  form  to  all  the  attention  which  may  be  paid  to 
practical  methods.  Methods  must  be  continually  changing 
according  as  circumstances  change  ;  and  these  change  more 
or  less  each  successive  day.  The  particular  course  which  was 
glory  day  before  yesterday,  and  wisdom  yesterday,  may  be 
folly  to-day,  while  it  will  be  ruin  to-morrow.  The  path  of 
existence  was  designed  to  be  an  onward  one,  and  the  steps 
of  no  one  day  can  be  repeated  the  next  if  progress  is  to  be 
made.  But  principles  are  in  their  nature  eternal,  and  it  is 
their  office  to  sustain  and  guide  amid  all  the  vicissitudes 
of  circumstance,  condition,  event,  fortune.  They  are  the 
changeless  stars  that  shine  over  us  to  direct,  amid  all  the 
tossings  of  the  waves,  the  variations  of  wind  and  current, 
the  agitations  and  wanderings  of  our  frail  barks.  If  prop- 
erly observed,  they  secure  each  right  end,  just  as  the  vitality 
of  the  tree,  amid  all  the  alternations  of  sunshine  and  storm, 
with  all  the  varieties  of  soil  and  climate,  in  the  forest  or  the 
open  field,  on  the  mountain  or  the  plain,  makes  of  the  acorn 
an  oak,  and  only  an  oak. 

In  most  professional  schools,  the  fundamental  importance 
of  the  study  of  the  principles  upon  which  the  profession  is 
based  has  been  recognized  and  practically  regarded.  No 
one  questions  that  the  prime  objects  of  attention  in  a  med- 
ical school  should  be  the  principles  of  medicine  ;  in  a  law 
school,  of  lav/  ;  and  in  a  theological  seminary,  of  theology. 
Why  has  it  not  been  equally  seen  that  in  a  Normal  School,  for 

2 


26  AMERICAN   NORMAL    SCHOOL   CONVENTION. 

the  training  of  educators,  the  prime  subject  of  study  should 
be  the  principles  of  Education,  and  that  the  most  earnest 
effort  of  the  student  should  be  directed,  not  to  the  solution 
of  a  miscellaneous  question  in  Mr.  Blank's  Arithmetic,  but 
to  the  answer  for  himself,  or  herself,  of  such  questions  as 
these,  "What  is  Education?"  "  What  does  it  comprise?" 
"  What  are  its  true  ends,  its  great  laws,  its  essential  means  ?" 
''  What  are  the  distinctive  properties  of  the  only  two  sub- 
jects of  education,  vitalized  matter  and  mind  ?"  "  What 
are  the  characteristics  of  the  human  body,  its  proper  offices, 
its  wants,  its  capacities,  its  laws  of  development,  health, 
strength,  and  activity  ?"  "  What  is  the  nature  of  mind,  its 
end  in  creation,  its  destiny,  its  susceptibilities  and  pow- 
ers?" "What  are  the  special  nature  and  design  of  each 
faculty  of  the  mind,  its  capabilities,  its  limits,  its  uses,  its 
dangers,  its  methods  of  action,  its  laws  of  awakening,  un- 
folding, growth,  health,  and  disease,  its  need  and  reward  of 
culture,  and  the  best  methods  of  this  culture  ?"  "  What 
are  the  motive  principles  of  man,  his  sensibilities,  desires, 
affections,  passions  ?"  "  What  is  the  nature  and  intent  of 
each,  its  normal  and  abnormal  action,  its  sanity  and  insanity, 
its  relations  to  virtue,  intelligence,  and  happiness  ?"  "How 
can  the  educator  avail  himself  of  each,  so  as  to  secure  the 
desired  result  ?"  "  With  what  skillful  hand  can  he  touch 
each  chord,  so  as  to  bring  forth  only  melody  and  harmony  ?" 
"  And  then  the  Will,  what  is  this  mysterious  agent,  or  es- 
sence of  agency  ?"  "  Is  it  self-determined,  or  determined 
from  without?"  "How  can  it  be  rightly  stimulated,  re- 
pressed, governed,  and  taught  to  govern  itself  ?"  "  Tiie 
Conscience,  what  is  this,  and  why  was  it  given  to  us  ?" 
"  How  far,  and  how  can  it  be  educated  ?"  "Is  it  a  sure  or 
an  erring  guide  ?"  "  In  what  sense  is  it  the  vicegerent  of 
God  ?"     "  How  can  it  be  secured  in  its  rightful  authority  ?" 


27 

"  Wlieii  dethroned,  how  can  it  be  restored  to  its  proper  seat 
and  scepter?"  "  Who  constitute  the  agents  of  education, 
and  what  is  the  proper  sphere,  office,  and  responsibility  of 
each — of  the  pupil  himself,  the  parent,  the  scliool-teacher, 
the  school  committee,  the  clergyman,  the  community  ?" 
''How  far  must  all  education  be  essentially  self-education?'' 
"  How  various  and  extensive  are  educational  influences  ?" 
"What  are  the  best  institutions  for  education,  and  what 
methods  are  most  in  harmony  with  its  great  principles?" 

With  the -consideration  of  such  questions — with  this  study 
of  the  philosophy  and  art  of  education,  including,  as  they 
obviously  do,  physiology  and  hygiene,  mental  and  moral 
philosophy,  and  the  principles  of  school  legislation,  organ- 
ization, and  government,  may  be  naturally  connected  some 
attention  to  the  instructive  and  encouraging  history  of 
education. 

But  the  deveh^pment  and  growth  of  the  mind  are  insep- 
arably connected  with  the  acquisition  of  knowledge.  The 
educator  must  be  also  an  instructor.  Hence  he  should  cer- 
tainly know  the  principles  and  best  methods  of  instruction 
in  all  those  branches  of  learning  which  he  may  be  called  to 
teach  ;  principles  first,  and  then  methods  as  the  application 
of  principles.  It  follows,  that  the  regular  course  of  study 
in  our  Normal  Schools  should  include,  as  its  second  great 
department,  the  thorough  consideration  of  these  principles 
and  methods  of  instruction.  But  the  question  may  arise, 
"With  reference  to  what  branches  of  learning  or  depart- 
ments of  teaching  ?"  With  reference  to  all  those,  cer- 
tainly, that  belong  to  the  common  school.  And  these  in- 
clude the  elements  of  most  branches  of  learning.  Arith- 
metic contains  the  elements  of  mathematics  ;  geography, 
of  the  natural  sciences  ;  and  reading  and  grammar,  of  lan- 
guage and  literature.     It  is  familiar  to  teachers,  that  the 


28  A^IERICAN   NORMAL    SCHOOL    CONVENTION. 

great  difficulty  in  instruction  lies  in  teaching  the  elements. 
Here  is  the  sharpest  test  of  didactic  pliilosophy  and  skill. 
The  elements  well  taught,  the  further  work  of  the  teacher, 
so  far  as  modes  of  instruction  are  concerned,  is  compara- 
tively easy.  Hence  it  will  be  practically  found  that  the 
principles  and  methods  of  common-school  instruction  will 
substantially  cover  nearly  the  whole  ground  of  the  princi- 
ples and  methods  of  instruction  in  general.  He  w^ho  can 
teach  scientifically  and  adroitly  a  primary  school,  may  be 
trusted,  if  his  literary  attainments  are  sufficient,  in  any  de- 
partment of  instruction  up  to  the  university.  I  would  not, 
however,  exclude  from  the  Normal  School  special  attention 
to  the  particular  principles  and  methods  of  so-called  higher 
instruction. 

But  the  educator  requires  not  only  a  theoretical,  but  a 
practical  preparation  for  his  woik.  To  acquaintance  with 
principles  and  methods,  he  needs  to  add  skill,  tact,  and  fa- 
cility in  their  use  and  ap})licati(>n.  By  w^hat  practical 
exercises  these  may  be  best  acquired,  we  are  to  be  informed 
hereafter;  and  it  does  not  seem  befitting,  especially  with 
my  sand  so  far  run  out,  that  I  should  anticipate  the  dis- 
cussion. 

We  have  now  very  briefly  considered  what  seem  to  me 
to  be  the  three  great  and  essential  departments  in  the  reg- 
ular course  of  study  appropriate  to  the  American  ]N'ormal 
School,  viz.  : 

I.  The  philosophy,  history,  and  art  of  Education,  physical, 
intellectual,  and  moral. 

H.  The  principles  and  best  methods  of  instruction  in  the 
various  branches  of  common  learning. 

HI.  Exercises  for  the  illustration  and  application  of  these 
principles  and  methods,  and  for  imparting  practical  famil- 
iarity with  the  teacher's  work. 


29 

It  does  not  seem  to  me  to  require  an  argument  that,  in 
the  institution  and  prosecution  of  this  course,  we  should 
have  higher  aims,  freer  thought,  and  a  deeper  philosophy 
than  have  been  usual  in  the  European  Normal  Schools. 
Upon  our  own  schools  I  will  not  here  remark,  except  simply 
that  they  differ  so  greatly  in  plan,  purpose,  and  circum- 
stance from  those  in  Europe,  that  we  must  beware  of  taking 
these  as  our  models.  The  N"ormal  School  problem  in  this 
country  is  a  far  higher  and  greater  one  than  that  in  Europe 
has  been  ;  and  the  necessity  is  laid  upon  us,  choose  it  or 
not  as  we  may,  of  working  out  this  problem  for  ourselves. 
What  hopes  hang  on  its  right  solution  ! 

Let  us  proceed  to  a  fourth  inquiry.  What  incidental  or 
svhsidiary  courses  of  study  may  he  jprojperly  introduced  into 
our  Normal  Schools  ? 

By  "  incidental  or  subsidiary  courses,"  I  mean  those 
which  are  not  strictly  professional,  which  do  not  character- 
ize the  ISTormal  School  as  such,  but  are  common  to  this 
with  other  institutions  of  good  learning.  These  courses  in  a 
Normal  School  have,  mainly,  three  objects  : 

1.  To  supply  defects  in  the  preparation  for  admission. 

2.  To  continue  that  general  culture  which  ought  not  to  be 
neglected  even  in  a  course  of  professional  study. 

3.  To  give  an  acquaintance  with  the  higher  branches  of 
school  learning. 

So  far  as  the  first  object  has  been  contemplated — thus  far 
I  acknowledge  a  very  important  and  indispensable  object — 
it  seems  to  me  that  there  is  for  our  Normal  Schools,  to  bor- 
row the  words  of  the  Apostle,  ''a  more  excellent  way;" 
and  that  is,  to  raise  the  standard  of  admission,  so  that  the 
pupils  shall  bring  with  them  the  attainments  requisite  for 
their  entering  at  once,  efficiently  and  successfully,  upon  a 
course  of  professional  discipline.     This  is  only  the  common 


30  AMERICAN    NORMAL    SCHOOL    CONVENTION. 

demand  of  other  professional  schools.  Why  should  it  not 
be  of  the  Normal  School  ?  Why  should  this  be  obliged  to 
descend  from  its  peculiar  work,  so  great  and  high,  to  per- 
form the  work  of  other  schools,  or  to  supply  their  short- 
comings? Ought  it  not,  in  its  noble  upbuilding,  to  adopt 
the  words  of  the  rebuilder  of  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  ''  I  am 
doing  a  great  work,  so  that  I  can  not  come  down  ?"  Is  it 
too  much  to  require,  at  the  least,  that  the  candidates  for 
admission  should  be  already  thoroughly  acquainted  with 
the  branches  of  common-school  study,  so  that  they  may  be 
fully  prepared  to  enter  at  once  upon  a  consideration  of  the 
principles  and  best  methods  of  teaching  these  branches  ? 

But  it  may  be  asked,  "  If  in  default  of  candidates  properly 
prepared,  it  is  deemed  expedient  for  the  present  to  admit 
those  who  are  only  partially  fitted,  what  shall  be  done  ? 
Shall  there  not  be  an  attempt  to  supply  their  defects  ?" 
Yes,  by  all  means.  "  And  in  what  way  ?"  If  the  defects 
in  a  particular  branch  are  not  serious,  they  may  be  supplied, 
by  a  little  extra  work,  in  the  regular  course  of  studying  the 
principles  and  methods  of  instruction  in  that  branch  ;  for 
this  course  will  necessarily  bring  to  view,  and  from  the  best 
point  of  view,  the  essential  elements  and  leading  particulars 
of  the  branch.  If  the  defects  are  quite  considerable,  they 
should  be  supplied,  as  it  seems  to  me,  not  by  a  review  in 
the  regular  course,  to  which  all  are  subjected,  but  by  spe- 
cial exercises  for  those  who  are  deficient,  adapted  to  the 
several  degrees  of  their  deficiency.  Many  excellent  schol- 
ars have  undoubtedly  been  prevented  from  entering  our 
Normal  Schools  by  the  impression  that  much  of  the  time 
is  devoted,  for  the  sake  of  poorer  scholars,  to  exercises 
which  they  themselves  do  not  need.  Haise  the  standard  of 
admission  to  our  Normal  Schools,  and  higher  intellects  and 
richer  attainments  will   be  attracted   to  them.     Let  a  low 


31 

standard  be  kept,  and  we  must  not  be  disappointed  to  find 
those  presenting  themselves  to  whom  such  a  standard  is 
attractive. 

In  respect  to  incidental  exercises  for  the  second  object, 
the  continuance  of  that  general  culture  which  ought  not  to 
be  neglected  even  in  a  course  of  professional  study,  we  are 
doubtless  so  fully  agreed  in  general  sentiment  that  this 
point  may  be  passed  without  further  remark. 

What  shall  we  say  in  respect  to  those  of  the  third  class, 
those  which  have  for  their  object  to  give  an  acquaintance 
with  the  higher  branches  of  school  study  ?  In  respect  to 
these  higher  branches,  it  may  be  remarked,  that  attention 
to  them  is,  to  a  considerable  extent,  involved  in  the  proper 
prosecution  of  the  Regular  Normal  Course.  The  science  of 
Education  covers,  as  its  bases.  Physiology  and  Mental  and 
Moral  Philosophy — the  Philosophy-  of  Reasoning,  of  Ex- 
pression, and  of  Government  being  of  course  included.  A 
thorough  investigation  of  the  principles  and  methods  of 
teaching  Arithmetic  involves,  of  necessity,  from  the  marvel- 
ous powers  and  world-wide  applications  of  number,  some 
attention  to  Algebra,  Geometry,  Mechanics,  and  the  laws 
and  forms  of  pecuniary  transactions.  Into  what  department 
of  physical  science  does  not  Geography  conduct  us,  I  do  not 
say  for  mere  illustration,  but  for  essential  or  important  ex- 
planation? And  what  demands  are  made  upon  him  who, 
in  the  adequate  teaching  of  reading  and  grammar,  would 
attempt  to  unfold  the  powers  and  riches  of  our  inappreci- 
able language  and  literature  ! 

But  shall  the  higher  branches  of  study  be  introduced  into 
our  Normal  Schools  farther  than  a  liberal  and  truly  scien- 
tific preparation  for  the  work  of  common-school  instruction 
requires?  If  they  are  so  introduced,  our  schools  should 
have  larger  corps  of  teachers  and  more  ample  support  than 


32  AMERICAN   NOKMAL    SCHOOL    CONVENTION. 

most  of  them  now  have.  If  they  are  not  so  introduced,  we 
may  expect  in  the  future,  as  we  have  observed  in  the  past, 
the  following  consequences.  Those  who  have  been  pro- 
fessionally educated  for  the  worl?:  of  teaching,  who  have 
made  it  a  study,  a  science,  will,  for  the  most  part,  be  con- 
fined to  what  are  regarded  as  the  lower,  or  as  only  medium 
positions  in  the  work  ;  while  the  highest  places,  the  fnost  in- 
fluential and  the  most  lucrative,  will  be  cliiefly  occupied  by 
those  who,  however  well  educated  in  other  respects,  have 
never  made  the  science  of  teaching  a  distinct  subject  of 
study,  who  have  never  given  an  hour  to  serious  thought  upon 
the  principles  of  education  ;  nay,  who  perhaps  even  scout 
the  idea  that  any  professional  training  is  needed  by  the 
teacher.  The  evils  of  such  a  state  of  things  I  need  not  at- 
tempt to  describe ;  of  so  unnatural  a  divorce  between  edu- 
cational science  and  educational  influence,  between  didactic 
skill  and  high  literary  attainment,  between  professional 
preparation  for  the  work  of  teaching  and  favorable  position 
in  the  work.  That  for  this  separation  there  should  be  sub- 
stituted the  closest  union,  seems  to  me  evident,  as  if  written 
with  sunbeams  ;  how  this  union  can  be  best  effected,  may 
not  be  equally  plain.  So  far  as  young  men  are  concerned, 
there  are  two  methods,  which  ought  perhaps  both  to  be  at- 
tempted ;  the  first,  the  extension  of  the  courses  of  higher 
study  in  our  Normal  Schools;  the  second,  the  introduction 
of  a  thorough  and  efticient  course  of  didactics,  theoretical 
and  prac|ical,  into  our  college  curriculum.  So  far  as  young 
women  are  concerned,  we  seem  to  be  shut  up  to  the  first  of 
these  methods  ;  and  while  I  would  have  the  I^ormal  Schools 
for  them  dev^oted  not  less,  but  more  than  they  now  are,  to  the 
cause  of  primary  education,  I  deem  it  of  vital  importance 
(the  expression  does  not  exaggerate  my  conviction)  that 
there  should  be  in  connection  with  these  schools  scientitic 


33 

and  literary  advantages  for  oar  talented,  studious,  and  enter- 
prising young  ladies  akin  to  those  which  have  been  pro- 
vided for  their  brothers,  often  at  woman's  expense,  in  the 
numerous  colleges  of  our  country.* 

«  The  importance  of  the  subject  must  be  my  apology  for  adding  extracts 
from  two  Semi-annual  Reports  to  the  Board  of  Visitors  for  the  State  Normal 
School  at  Salem,  Mass.  : 

' '  The  great  and  increasing  demand  for  female  teachers  of  superior  attain- 
ment to  take  positions  in  High  Schools,  and  other  institutions  of  like  grade, 
renders  it  eminently  desirable  that  those  who  may  be  able  and  prepared  to  do 
this,  should  pursue  a  regular  advanced  course,  designed  to  meet  the  requisi- 
tions of  the  law  in  respect  to  the  teachers  of  our  public  High  Schools.  Ladies 
are  already  beginning  to  be  employed  in  these  schools,  not  merely  as  assist- 
ants, but  as  principals  ;  and  that,  not  only  in  separate  schools  for  girls,  but  even 
in  those  for  both  sexes.  And  a  case  has  lately  come  to  my  knowledge  where 
a  young  lady,  a  graduate  of  one  of  our  own  Normal  Schools,  was  engaged  as 
an  assistant  in  the  flourishing  High  School  of  one  of  our  large  towns,  with 
the  understanding  that  she  should  teach  the  Greek  and  Latin,  and  fit  young 
men  for  college. 

"  Indeed,  I  observe  that  our  legislators  are  contemplating  an  enlargement  in 
this  direction  of  the  sphere  of  female  instruction.  Strange  and  almost  incred- 
ible as  it  may  appear,  until  as  recently  as  the  year  1827,  there  was  no  recogni- 
tion whatever  of  female  teachers  in  the  statutes  of  the  Commonwealth.  The 
school -law  of  1789,  which  was  previously  in  force,  read  thus  :  '  Every  town 
or  district  within  tliis  Commonwealth,  containing  fifty  families  or  household- 
ers, sliall  be  provided  with  a  schoolmaster  or  schoolmasters,  of  good  morals,  to 
teach  children  to  read  and  write,  and  to  instruct  them  in  the  English  lan- 
guage, as  well  as  in  arithmetic,  orthography,  and  decent  behavior,  for  such 
term  of  time  as  shall  be  equivalent  to  six  months  for  one  school  in  each 
year.'  etc.  The  law  of  March  10th,  1827,  upon  which  our  present  scliool  sys- 
tem is  based,  reads  thus  :  '  Each  town  or  district  within  this  Commonwealth, 
containing  fifty  families  or  householders,  shall  be  provided  with  a  teacher  or 
teachei's,  of  good  morals,  to  instruct  children  in  orthography,  reading,  writ- 
ing, English  grammar,  geography,  arithmetic,  and  good  behavior,  for  such 
term  of  time  as  shall  be  equivalent  to  six  months  for  one  school  in  each 
year,'  etc.  Instead  of  the  masculine  'schoolmaster  or  schoolmasters,'  ex- 
chiding  females  from  the  instruction  of  the  schools  required  by  law,  we  have 
now  those  words  of  the  common  gender,  '  teacher  or  teachers, '  opening  the 
door  of  the  school-house,  for  the  common  school,  as  wide  to  the  woman  as  to 
the  man.  For  tlie  numbers  that  are  entering  in — increasing  from  year  to 
year — and  their  success,  I  need  only  refer  to  the  Annual  Reports  of  one  oi 
your  own  Board,  and  the  accompanying  documents.  Still,  this  same  law  of 
1827,  a  few  lines  below,  says  that  the  high  school  must  have  *  a  master  of  good 
morals,'  etc.  A  woman  might  keep  a  common  school,  but  it  was  not  yet 
deemed  admissible  that  a  high  school  should  be  committed  to  female  hands. 

2* 


34:  AMERICAN  NORMAL   SCHOOL   CONVENTION. 

We  pass  to  our  fifth  and  last  inquiry  :  What  should  he 
the  influence  of  the  American  Normal  School  upon  tht  char- 
acter of  its  pupils  f  I  have  left  its  greatest  work  to  be  men- 
tioned last ;  for  the  great  question,  after  all,  is  not,  "  Where 
has  the  teacher  been  educated  ?"  "  What  has  he  studied  ?" 
or  **  What  does  he  know  ?"  but  ^*  What  is  he?"  or,  pardon  me 
if  my  own  special  relations,  and  my  views  of  the  distinctive 
ofiice  of  each  sex  in  the  elevation  of  humanity,  incline  me 
to  change  the  pronoun,  "  What  is  she  ?"  "  What  is  her 
spirit?  Her  love  for  the  work?  Her  love  for  those  com- 
mitted to  her  charge  ?  Her  ideal  of  excellence  for  herself 
and  for  her  pupils  ?     Her  zeal  and  energy  in  making  this 

But  so  much  progress  in  public  sentiment  and  school  usages  has  been  since 
made,  that  in  the  revision  of  the  section  relating  to  high  schools,  May  22, 
1857,  wherever  the  word  '  master'  had  previously  occurred,  Wiis  now  substi- 
tuted *  teacher  or  teachers.'  '  The  first  class  of  the  fifth  section  of  the  twen- 
ty-third chapter  of  the  Revised  Statutes  is  hereby  so  amended  as  that  the 
teacher  or  teacliers  of  the  schools,  required  to  be  kept  by  said  clause,  shall  be 
competent  to  give  instruction,'  etc.  And  yet  the  requisitions  are  now  much 
higher  than  before.  What  is  the  significance  of  this  change  made  by  the 
Legislature  of  that  year,  except  to  express  their  approbation  of  tlie  gradual 
but  sure  movement  by  which  instruction  in  our  high  as  well  as  common 
schools  is  passing,  to  so  great  an  extent,  into  the  hands  of  those  whose  espe- 
cial vocation  and  profession  seems  to  be  that  of  education  ?" — Eeport,  Feb.  9, 
1859. 

*'  We  have  been  happy  to  welcome,  as  members  of  our  advanced  class,  ten 
who  have  commenced  a  regular  course  of  higher  study  in  direct  preparation 
for  instruction  in  our  High  Schools  and  Academies.  No  one,  it  seems  to  me^ 
who  has  watched  carefully  the  educational  signs  of  the  times,  in  the  con- 
stantly increasing  number  of  female  teachers,  and  the  no  less  constantly  en- 
larging sphere  of  female  instruction,  can  doubt  the  wisdom,  on  the  part  of 
our  young  ladies,  of  engaging  in  such  a  preparation  ;  or  the  expediency,  on 
the  part  of  the  Commonwealth,  of  making  the  fullest  provision,  even  at  an 
extra  expense,  and  by  the  employment  of  an  extra  number  of  teachers,  in  at 
least  one,  if  not  all,  of  our  Normal  Schools,  for  such  a  class  of  students.  And 
is  not  this,  permit  me  to  ask,  a  worthy  object  of  individual  bounty,  not  only 
from  women,  but  from  men  of  ample  means  ?  If  but  a  tithe  of  the  money 
which  woman  has  contributed,  often  from  the  hardest  earnings,  for  the  edu- 
cation of  the  other  sex,  were  but  returned  for  the  benefit  of  woman,  there 
would  be  no  scantiness  of  resources  for  the  very  highest  female  education." 
—Report,  July  28,  1859. 


PKOF.    CROSBY  S    PAPEK. 


35 


ideal  real  ?  With  the  noblest  ends  in  view,  does  she  abound 
in  means  and  resources  for  securing  those  ends  ?  Is  she  in- 
genious, inventive,  prompt,  resolute,  patient,  persevering? 
In  all  her  habits  and  expressions  of  character,  is  she  fitted 
to  be  a  model  to  her  pupils  ?  Are  her  conscience  and  affec- 
tions true  and  living  ?  Does  she  really  live,  while  in  the 
world,  above  it,  deriving  wisdom,  strength,  impulse,  sup- 
port, peace,  and  joy  from  higher  than  earthly  sources?" 

Highly  as  I  appreciate  the  good  which  our  Normal  Schools 
have  accomplished  by  disciplining  and  furnishing  the  intel- 
lect of  their  pupils,  I  still  believe  that  they  have  accom- 
plished yet  more  through  their  influence  upon  character,  by 
awaking,  developing,  and  strengthening  the  true  spirit  of 
the  teacher's  work  ;  by  joining  with  broader  views,  loftier, 
farther  reaching,  purer  aspirations  ;  by  giving  greater  depth 
and  fixedness  to  principles ;  by  bringing  conscience  to  bear 
alike  upon  the  grand  aims  and  the  minute  details  of  the 
teacher's  vocation  ;  by  kindling  in  the  heart  a  more  glowing 
affection  for  the  young ;  by  all  those  various  and  commin- 
gled influences  of  example  and  precept,  freedom  and  sys- 
tem, meditation  and  conference,  which  form  the  atmosphere 
of  the  Normal  School ;  by  touching  the  lips  with  a  live  coal 
from  the  altar  of  God. 

May  the  Normal  School  continue  and  make  perfect  this 
beneficent,  sublime,  heavenly  work,  illustrating  in  the  char- 
acters which  it  forms,  those  lines  of  the  poet : 

' '  The  clear  soul  in  his  earnest  eyes 
Looks  through  and  through  all  plated  lies  ; 
Time  shall  not  rob  him  of  his  youth, 

Nor  narrow  his  large  sympathies  : 
He  is  not  true,  he  is  a  truth, 

And  such  a  truth  as  never  dies. 
No  shadow  simulating  life, 

But  pulses  warm  with  human  nature, 

In  a  soul  of  godlike  stature  ; 


36  AMERICAN   NOKMAL    SCHOOL   CONVENTION. 

Heart  and  brain  all  rich  and  rife 

With  noble  instincts  ;  strong  to  meet 
Time  calmly,  in  his  purposed  place  ; 

Sound  through  and  through,  and  all  complete. 
Who  knows  his  nature,  feels  his  right, 
And  toiling,  toils  for  his  delight ; 
Not  as  slaves  toil  :  where'er  he  goes, 
The  desert  blossoms  with  the  rose. 

The  world  works  with  him ;  all  men  see 
Some  part  of  them  fulfilled  in  him  ; 
His  memory  never  shall  grow  dim  ; 

He  holds  the  heaven  and  earth  in  fee, 
Not' following  that,  fulfilling  this, 
He  is  immortal,  for  he  is  !" 

DISCUSSION. 

The  reading  of  Prof.  Crosby's  paper  being  conchided,  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  same  was  in  order. 

Hon.  Geo.  B.  Emerson,  of  Boston,  said :  I  wish  to  utter  a  sin- 
gle word  in  regard  to  one  point  presented,  in  which  I  do  not  know 
but  the  gentleman  who  presented  the  admirable  paper  to  which  we 
have  listened,  referred  to  myself. 

I  believe,  sir,  we  are  not  to  look  to  the  Old  World  for  models  of 
improvement  in  these  schools.  When  the  question  first  came  up  in 
Massachusetts  as  to  what  a  Normal  School  should  be.  we  all  had 
our  eyes  on  the  Normal  Schools  of  Prussia  ;  for,  as  they  had  been 
longer  established,  we  supposed  we  could  learn  from  them.  When 
I  visited  Prussia  three  years  ago,  I  visited  one  and  one  only,  in 
Berlin.  I  was  told  it  was  a  good,  fair  average  of  the  schools.  I 
spent  a  week  in  examining  it,  and  I  never  was  more  surprised  ;  I 
confess,  I  never  was  more  gratified  than  I  was  then,  to  find  that 
there  was  not  one  single  principle  in  which  the  schools  of  Massa- 
chusetts were  not  above  them. 

The  gentleman  referred  in  his  paper  to  the  kind  of  persons  called 
to  teach  there  ;  and  he  hj^s  not  used  too  strong  language.  The 
young  men  who  taught  there  were  of  such  a  character,  that  if  they 
had  presented  themselves  for  examination  to  enter  one  of  our  Nor- 
mal Schools,  they  would  have  been  told  to  go  to  the  plow  or  to  the 
anviil,  to  do  what  God  had  fitted  them  to  do. 

Then  as  to  the  course  and  object  of  the  schools,  it  seemed  as  if 
the  object  of  the  course  were  rather  to  keep  down  the  people  than 
to  keep  them  up.     They  were  schools  sustained  by  a  ruler  who 


REMARKS    OF    DR.    EMERSON MR.    FIELD.  37 

dreaded  too  much  light,  and  for  a  cla«s  which  doe^  not  bt^long  to 
this  couritry.  There  is  no  class  of  free  people  in  this  country  so 
low  as  those  for  whom  the  Normal  Schools  of  Prussia  are  designed. 

But  in  speaking  of  the  character  of  the  teaching  that  1  saw,  I 
speak  only  of  it  in  the  Normal  School ;  for  in  some  of  thfe  gymnasia 
I  saw  such  a  course  of  training  as  it  would  be  of  great  advantage  to 
the  teachers  of  th-s  country  to  be  able  to  witness. 

We  must  not  look  elsewhere  for  the  modes  of  raising  our  own 
Normal  Schools.  How  can  we  imagine  that  we  have  to  look  else- 
where, after  having  listened  to  the  words  of  wise  experience  which  we 
have  just  heard  ?  If  such  men  as  he  are  willing  to  take  charge  of  them, 
if  such  lessons  of  wisdom  come  from  them,  let  us  look  at  home,  let  us 
look  at  the  instructions  of  the  Bible  and  learn  how  immortal  crea- 
tures should  be  educated  in  the  spirit  of  Christ.  We  must  not  look, 
we  need  not  look  anywhere  else.  The  work  is  before  us  ;  we  must 
do  it  ourselves.     (Applause.) 

Hon.  Richard  S.  Field,  of  Princeton,  President  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees  of  the  N.  J.  State  Normal  School,  addressed  the  meet- 
ing and  welcomed  the  Association  to  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  and 
inv  ted  the  members  to  spend  Friday  in  visiting  the  literary  institu- 
tions of  Princeton,  and  the  battle-ground,  and  he  generously  proffer- 
ed the  hospitalities  of  his  own  house. 

Rev.  Dr.  McJilton,  of  Baltimore,  was  satisfied  that  the  people 
of  our  own  country  could  think  best  for  Americans,  and  could  lay 
out  for  themselves  a  course  of  study  which  should  be  restricted  and 
governed  by  the  peculiarities  of  no  other  people  on  earth.  But 
while  this  is  the  case,  we  must  be  exceedingly  careful  that  our 
course  is  not  one  of  experiments,  which  would  be  one  of  the  most 
unhappy  results  ;  for  we  >hould  become  proficient  in  nothing.  What 
we  should  do  is  to  aim  at  certain  points  and  confine  our  efforts  to 
them,  without  diverging  to  experiments  too  much.  The  reason  why 
Normal  Schools  have  changed  their  character  is,  1  think,  because 
we  have  not  sufficiently  understood  their  true  position.  That  they 
are  necessary,  is  so  evident  as  to  need  no  argument ;  it  is  impossi- 
ble that  education  shall  take  its  proper  position  without  the  aid  of 
Normal  Schools  ;  it  is  as  impossible  that  the  profession  of  teaching 
should  succeed  without  training,  as  that  the  profession  of  medicine 
or  divinity  should  do  so.  To  teach  the  teacher  is  necessary,  and 
to  teach  him  how  to  teach  is  a  matter  of  absolute  necessity. 


38  AMERICAN   NORMAL   SCHOOL    CONVENTION. 

Prof.  John  S.  Hart,  of  Philadelphia,  approved  the  sentiments 
and  principles  presented  by  Prof.  Chosby.  He  thought  it  very  im- 
portant that  they  should,  in  the  outset,  get  a  clear  idea  of  what  a 
Normal  School  is.  The  men  who  are  engaged  in  this  great  work 
should  have  their  opinions  well  settled  as  to  the  theory  of  a  Normal 
School ;  and  the  paper  presented  is  well  adapted  to  settle  that 
theory,  and  to  bring  our  minds  to  definite  conclusions  on  the 
subject. 

This  theoretical  idea  is,  in  my  opinion,  more  important  than  many 
practical  subjects  which  may  come  before  us.  The  practical  sub- 
jects are  important  in  themselves,  but  we  must  have  a  correct  theory 
at  the  bottom,  if  we  are  to  reach  ultimate  success.  But  there  is  a 
difficulty,  which  is,  that  there  is  nothing  with  which  we  can  com- 
pare a  Normal  School.  That  is  the  only  point  on  which  I  differ 
with  the  gentleman  who  presented  the  paper.  We  commonly  divide 
schools  into  scientific  and  professional;  and  we  have  different 
classes  of  these.  Now,  if  a  Normal  School  must  be  brought  under 
either  of  these  categories,  it  must  be  a  professional  school  ;  and  yet 
it  differs,  in  some  important  points,  from  any  other.  For  instance, 
in  a  medical  school,  lectures  are  given  in  sciences,  and  in  that 
respect  it  is  much  like  a  school  of  philosophy,  or  philology,  or  any 
other  science.  In  a  medical  school  the  students  are  not  trained  to 
give  instruction  in  medicine  ;  in  -a  Normal  School  we  are  called 
upon,  not  to  train  pupils  in  science  so  much  as  to  show  them  how  to 
teach  others.  To  make  the  comparison  complete  between  a  Normal 
School  and  a  medical  school,  the  professors  in  a  medical  school 
should  train  their  students  to  make  other  doctors.  The  idea  of  a 
N-rmal  School  does,  in  a  certain  •  sense,  overshadow  all  other 
schools,  because  it  trains  teachers  how  to  teach  every  branch.  1 
have  seen  not  a  few  learned  men,  even  in  our  colleges,  who  need  to 
go  through  this  normal  process  as  much  as  those  who  teach  addition 
or  multiplication.  This  necessity  goes  through  the  whole  course, 
so  that  a  man  needs  to  be  trained  how^  to  teach  the  differential  cal- 
culus as  much  as  to  teach  the  alphabet. 

Adjourned. 


REMARKS    OF    DR.    EMERSON.  39 

WEDNESDAY    AFTERNOON. 
After  the  reading  of  the  Constitution,  the  names  of  the  members 
in  attendance  were  enrolled,  numbering  seventy-one  ;  and  fifty-four 
persons  present,  especially  interested  in  education  as  teachers,  or 
otherwise,  were  voted  in  as  honorary  or  corresponding  members. 

DISCUSSION     RESUMED. 

Dr.  Geo.  B.  Emerson  then  resumed  his  remarks  with  reference 
to  the  Normal  Schools  of  Prussia,  repeating  that  they  were  ii»tended 
for  a  class  of  persons  below  any  in  the  free  States  of  this  country. 
It  is  not  proper  to  draw  any  inference  from  them  intended  for  a 
class  that  does  not  exist. 

But  in  the  gymnasia  the  teachers  go  in  and  hold  communication 
with  the  understanding  of  their  pupils  for  three  hours  together,  hav- 
ing complete  possession  of  all  that  is  to  be  taught  from  beginning 
to  end.  There  were  no  exceptions  in  the  elements  of  the  learned 
languages  ;  but  in  the  classes  in  the  higher  authors,  text-books  were 
used.  In  those  schools  I  saw  specimens  of  teaching  the  very  ele- 
ments that  I  should  like  to  make  known  familiarly  to  all  the  teachers 
in  all  the  Normal  Schools  in  the  country.  A  man  highly  gifted, 
thoroughly  educated,  fitted  to  be  the  head  of  a  university,  going  in 
day  after  day,  and  teaching  little  children  the  first  lessons  irj  their 
alphabet.  I  know  from  what  I  have  seen  in  the  gymnasia  of  Berlin, 
and  Dresden,  and  Leipsic,  that  the  teaching  is  as  good  as  it  can  be  ; 
but  the  teaching  for  such  schools  as  are  imagined  to  correspond  to 
our  Normal  Schools,  is  not  to  be  compared  with  ours.  We  have  an 
infinitely  higher  material  out  of  which  to  make  the  teacher.  The 
great  difference  between  the  schools  of  Germany,  France,  Switzer- 
land, Sweden  and  Norway  and  those  of  ours  is,  that  in  all  those 
countries  they  have  not  discovered  the  fact  that  woman  is  the  God- 
appointed  teacher.  A  gentleman  was  sent  here  from  Sweden,  a  lew 
years  ago,  to  examine  the  schools  in  this  country,  to  see  if  he  could 
not  find  something  to  carry  back  to  his  own  country.  He  went  with 
me  to  visit  the  schools  at  West  Newton  ;  and  after  he  had  seen  a 
large  class  of  young  ladies-  recite  in  different  studies,  and  heard 
them  examine  each  other,  after  having  spent  three  hours  there,  he 
said:  "This  is  worth  coming  across  the  Atlantic  for.  We  can  now 
provide  for  the  poor  scholars  in  the  mountain  districts  of  Sweden 
and  Norway.     There  are  many  capable  women  there,  who  can  be 


40  AMEBIC  AN   NOIiMAL    SCHOOL    CONVENTION. 

easily  rendered  suitable  teachers.  This  will  be  the  means  of  my 
suggesting  to  my  King  the  propriety  of  filling  those  schools  with 
female  teachers." 

in  traveling  across  Switzerland,  I  was  for  several  hours  one  day 
in  company  with  a  very  intelligent  Swiss,  who  was  much  interested 
in  education.  We  passed  by  a  school-house  and  saw  an  exceedingly 
stupid-looking  man,  who  appeared  as  though  he  might  work  ten  or 
twelve  hours  a  day  at  the  plow,  and  the  land  be  all  the  better  for  it. 
But  he  did  not  look  as  if  he  could  teach.  I  asked  him  if  that  was  a 
sample  of  their  teaching,  Yes,  said  he.  We  passed,  not  long 
after,  a  field  where  there  were  many  intelligent-looking  females  at 
work.  I  suggested  to  him  that  in  my  country  those  females  would 
be  in  the  schools,  and  the  man  at  the  plow. 

Mr.  Greenleaf,  of  Brooklyn,  inquired  where  the  teachers  in  the 
gymnasia  acquired  their  skill. 

Mr.  Emerson  said  the  gymnasia  had  been  established  many 
years,  and  that  in  no  part  of  the  world  had  so  much  attention  been 
given  to  the  best  methods  of  teaching,  as  in  Germany.  He  did  not 
know  that  they  had  any  special  instruction  in  the  art  of  teaching, 
except  that  which  comes  from  a  course  of  instruction  during  ten 
yea's,  where  teachers  have  been  selected  who  know  how  to  teach 
perfectly  well,  'i'he  n.ost  beautiful  teaching  that  I  saw  in  Germany 
was  by  one  who  had  had  a  ten  years'  course  in  the  gymnasia,  where 
all  the  teaching  there  was  as  good  as  possible,  who  went  to  the 
Uhiversity  afterward,  but  where  he  did  not  learn  anything  in  the 
art  of  teaching;  and  after  he  left  the  university,  he  took  a  class  of 
forty  little  boys  who  did  not  know  their  alphabet.  1  do  not  know- 
that  there  was  any  special  training  in  the  art  of  teaching  in  the 
gymnasia  ;  but  if  all  teachers  were  as  good  as  those  in  the  gymnasia, 
there  would  be  no  need  of  Normal  Schools. 

Mr.  J.  W.  Dickinson,  Principal  of  the  Normal  School  at  West- 
field,  Mass.,  said  he  had  found  some  difficulty  in  the  management 
of  Normal  Schools.  He  supposed  the  primary  idea  of  those  who 
established  them  was,  that  they  should  be  confined  to  teaching 
methods  ;  and  it  was  taken  for  granted  ihat  the  scholars  would  have 
the  mind  and  knowledge  necessary  for  teachers.  I  do  not  know, 
said  he,  but  this  theory  is  the  correct  one  ;  but  practically  we  have 
no  such  scholars  present  themselves  for  admission.  They  do  not 
have  the  knowledge  and  discipline  necessary  for  teachers  ;  so  that 


BEMAEKS    OF   MR.    DICKINSON.  41 

while  the  plan  is  founded  upon  a  correct  principle,  the  theory  can 
not  be  carried  into  practical  effect.  And,  if  they  did  have  the  right 
principle  and  knowledge  before  they  entered,  there  would  be 
scarcely  any  necessity  for  Normal  Schools.  For  if  they  had  pur- 
sued the  right  discipline  in  obtaijiing  the  knowledge,  there  would  be 
suggested  to  them  the  best  methods  of  teaching  others. 

I  think  we  should  elevate  the  standard  for  admission  ;  and  it  will 
be  necessary  to  settle  what  that  standard  shall  be.  Shall  it  be 
scholarship,  or  physical  appearance,  or  mental  strength,  or  know- 
ledge ?  For  if  we  confine  the  examination  to  the  amount  of  know- 
ledge they  have,  we  may  shut  out  some  who,  after  a  time,  would 
make  the  best  teachers.  Thus  there  is  a  practical  difficulty  in  this 
respect. 

Another  idea  presented  by  the  author  of  the  paper  was,  that  some 
of  those  admitted,  should  not  be  required  to  go  over  the  same  course 
as  those  who  were  less  qualified.  I  would  like  to  know  if  any 
could  be  excused  from  passing  over  the  elementary  course.  So  far 
as  my  experience  goes,  there  is  no  scholar  admitted  who  does  not 
have  a  nt-cessity  for  passing  over  the  elementary  course  carefully 
and  thoroughly.  As  a  general  truth,  they  have  neglected  the  ele- 
mentary studies.  Those  in  the  seminary  where  1  am,  and  who  are 
nearly  ready  to  graduate,  are  most  willing  to  take  up  the  elementary 
course,  and  to  be  drilled  in  the  elements. 

Another  po'ut  referred  to  was  the  effect  of  the  normal  instruction 
on  character.  I  fully  agree,  said  he,  that  such  instruction  should  be 
given  as  to  make  every  department  of  the  nature  strong.  To  do  this 
some  radical  change  is  necessary.  There  should  be  a  longer  course 
in  the  schools,  and  none  except  those  who  have  gone  through  it, 
should  receive  the  certificate  of  the  institution.  This  may  not  be 
practicable  now,  but  as  the  system  comes  into  favor  we  should  look 
to  this  end. 

Prof.  Phelps,  of  Trenton,  said  this  association  was  organized  for 
the  purpose  of  improving  the  character  of  our  American  Normal 
Schools.  That  pre-supposes  that  they  are  defective,  if  you  please, 
that  they  are  in  their  infancy,  and  that  they  demand  to  be  improved. 
It  is  one  of  the  objects  of  this  Association  to  secure  this  improve- 
ment. 

In  the  outset,  we  must  know  what  we  would  have  the  Ameri- 
can Normal  Schools  to  be.     If  I  understood  the  pith  of  the  paper 


42  AMEKIGAN   NORMAL    SCHOOL   CONVENTION. 

that  was  read  this  morning,  it  was  that  one  of  the  great  objects  of 
the  American  Normal  School  is  to  build  up  a  system  pre-eminently 
American;  that  is  to  say,  a  system  which  shall  be  in  harmony  with 
the  character  and  genius  of  the  American  people. 

Another  object,  as  was  stated,  was  that  of  training  up  and  send- 
ing forth  a  succession  of  apostles,  who  shall  go  fortli  and  preach 
this  American  idea  in  its  purity,  and  carry  it  out  practically  in  the 
every-day  life  of  the  school.  As  one  means  of  securmg  this  result, 
our  friend  recommended  that  the  American  Normal  School  should 
be  less  scholastic  in  its  character,  and  more  professional ;  in  other 
words,  that  it  should  be  as  essentially  a  professional  school,  as  a 
medical,  law,  or  theological  school ;  And  it  was  suggested  by  our 
friend  Dr.  Haut,  of  Philadelphia,  that  the  comparison  was  not  as 
striking  as  it  ought  to  be,  that  to  place  them  on  a  level,  there  should 
be  institutions  for  teaching  how  to  make  doctors,  and  better  ones 
than  we  have  ;  how  to  make  lawyers,  and  better  ones.  I  conceive 
that  position  is  the  true  one.  Then  our  Normal  Schools  demand 
something  more  than  we  demand  of  other  professional  schools  ;  for 
their  true  object  is,  to  teach  others  how  to  teach. 

Now  the  great  question  is,  how  is  this  result  to  be  obtained  ?  in 
what  way  are  we  best  to  teach  others  hnw  to  teach? 

It  was  suggested  by  Prof  Ckosby,  that  to  obtain  the  true  objects 
of  the  Normal  Schools  we  must  raise  the  stand&rd  of  admission. 

With  all  due  respect  to  his  experience,  I  must  beg  leave  to  differ 
from  him.  If  the  standard  had  been  raised  in  this  institution  as  he 
would  have  it,  we  should  have  had  no  pupils  to  instruct.  Here  are 
the  startling  facts  in  the  case,  that  by  far  the  greater  part  of  those 
who  go  into  our  schools  to  teach  are  absolutely  ignorant  of  the 
principles  of  arithmetic,  grammar,  and  geography.  How  are  you 
to  teach  them  how  to  teach  that  of  which  they  know  nothing  ? 
Here  a  difficulty  of  immense  dimensions  is  presented  in  the  outset. 
When  all  our  common  schools  fail  to  make  their  pupils  acquainted 
with  these  principles,  what  can  you  do  ?  Will  you  refuse  them 
admittance  whde  they  are  thus  ignorant,  and  while,  at  the  same 
time,  all  our  schools,  academies,  and  colleges  fail  to  remove  that 
ignorance  ? 

But  admitting  that  only  the  art  of  teaching  how  to  teach  should 
be  taught  in  the  Normal  School,  I  want  to  know  how  you  are  to 
teach  the  best  methods  of  teaching  any  one  branch,  but  by  teaching 


REMARKS    OF   MR.    PHELrS.  43 

your  class  in  the  same  way,  or  in  accordance  with  the  same  princi- 
ples which  they  should  apply  in  their  school-rooms.  It  seecus  to 
nie  that  giving  instruction  in  the  elements  of  any  science  is  one  of 
the  hest  ways  to  train  teachers  to  teach  that  science. 

But  that  is  not  all.  The  simple  teachiug  of  arithmetic,  grammar, 
and  geography  is  the  least  part  of  our  teaching  in  common  school>  ; 
and  te.nching  how  to  teach  is  the  least  important  part  of  the  tra  ning 
in  Normal  Schools.  That  teaching  that  does  not  regard  the  high 
destiny  of  man  is  unworthy  the  attention  of  any  community.  It 
seems  to  me  that  we  cannot,  at  present,  exclude  the  idea  of  giv- 
ing elementary,  direct,  literary  instruction  in  our  Normal  Schools. 
I  do  not  know  how  it  may  be  in  Massachusetts,  but  we  will  grant 
that  the  people  of  that  State  are  in  advance  of  New  Jersey,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  New  York,  and  therefore  they  are  better  prepared  to 
raise  the  standard  of  admission  into  the  Normal  Schools  than  we 
are.  But  let  me  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  some  Normal  Schools 
have  died  out.  What  was  the  reason  ?  Those  which  simply  sail 
under  the  name  without  the  power  must  go  out. 

The  paper  of  Prof  Chosby  was  such  as  to  justify  us  m  drawing 
many  important  inferences.  First,  the  Normal  School  must  be 
conducted  with  direct  reference  to  training  up  a  class  of  teachers. 
Therefore  it  can  never  be  an  appendage  to  a  high  school  or  a  college. 
These  experiments  have  been  tried  so  far  as  to  justify  us  in  believ- 
ing that  no  such  thing  is  practicable.  The  result  of  such  an  attempt 
in  New  York  is  known  by  all  to  have  been  a  failure.  The  attempt 
was  made  in  Kentucky  to  establish  a  Normal  School  in  connection 
with  the  University  of  the  State.  It  did  not  survive  two  years. 
Engraft  your  medical  or  law  school  upon  the  academy,  and  you  will 
do  a  more  sensible  thing  than  to  engraft  a  Normal  School  upon  an 
institution  of  that  kind. 

We  want  to  have  definite  ideas  as  to  what  a  Normal  School  should 
be  it  seems  to  me  that  it  should  be  an  institution  in  which  every 
exercise  and  every  influence  should  be  of  such  a  character  as  to 
make  the  best  teachers  that  the  ingenuity,  that  the  means,  that  the 
mind  of  man  can  produce.  What  is  the  work  of  the  teacher?  Is  it 
to  make  good  accountants,  or  good  business  men,  or  to  lay  the  founda- 
tion for  good  lawyers  and  good  doctors  merely  ?  No,  sir  ;  the  work 
of  the  teacher  is  to  make  men  ;  men  able  to  comprehend  the  epoch 
in  which  they  live,  men  able  to  comprehend  what  their  high  destiny 


44  AMERICAN    NORMAL    SCHOOL   CONVENTION. 

is,  capable  of  acting  their  part  on  the  theater  of  life  as  men  should 
act.  After  all  our  discussions  we  shall  oidy  make  an  approximation 
to  the  true  idea  of  a  Normal  School.  I  trust  our  future  discus- 
sions will  tend  more  and  more  to  develop  the  particular  means, 
and  methods,  and  principles  by  the  operation  and  application  of 
which  the  true  idea  of  an  American  Normal  School  shall  be  wrought 
out. 

Prof.  S.  M.  Hamill,  of  New  Jersey,  thought  the  idea  expressed 
by  Cicero,  docentes  dicimus,  was  embodied  in  the  true  idea  of 
a  Normal  School,  Teaching  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  arts,  and 
he  who  can  teach  a  child  can  teach  an  adult,  with  proper  intellec- 
tual and  scholastic  attainments.  He  thought  there  was  apt  to  be 
too  much  teaching. 

Prof.  J  p.  WicKERSHAM,  of  Pennsylvania,  said  he  had  listened 
to  the  paper  and  the  discussion  upon  it  with  interest;  but  there  were 
some  questions  which  had  not  been  solved  to  his  satisfaction  as  yet ; 
VIZ.  :  how  much  academical  mstruction  may  the  Normal  Schools 
give  ;  and  on  the  other  hand,  how  much  professional  instruction  may 
academies  and  colleges  give?  'I'he  limit  has  not  yet  been  fixed. 
It  is  impracticable  to  ijianage  Normal  Schools  yet  without  giving 
scholastic  instruction  ;  and  if,  on  the  other  hand,  those  instructed 
in  academies  and  colleges  can  teach  well,  there  is  no  place  for 
Normal  Schools.  But  I  do  not  believe,  said  Mr  W.,  that  academies 
or  colleges  have  ever  made  teachers  ;  and  1  do  not  believe,  though 
their  methods  of  training  may  be  good,  that  they  can  make  them. 
Now  and  then  a  good  teacher  comes  from  them,  but  nature  made 
him,  and  not  the  academy  or  college.  They  tell  us  in  Pennsylvania 
that  academies  and  colleges  will  furnish  teacher-.  They  tell  us  so 
in  New  Jersey,  and,  if  I  read  the  report  right,  they  say  so  in 
Massachusetts. 

We  have  too  few  Normal  Schools.  We  have  15,000  teachers  in 
Pennsylvania  ;  what  can  a  few  Normal  Schools  do  toward  preparing 
them  for  their  work  1  We  must  increase  their  number  and  extend 
the  course  of  study  in  them. 

Rev.  B.  G.  Northrop,  Secretary  of  the  Association,  contended 
that  the  theory  of  the  Normal  School  should  be  right,  notwithstand- 
ing the  admitted  difficulty  of  fully  reaching  it  in  practice.  Our 
theory  in  education  will  shape  and  subordinate  all  the  processes. 
An  erroneous  theory  will  impair  our  whole  system,  and  vitiate  all 


REMARKS    OF    GEN.    OLIYEK.  45 

our  methods  and  details.  No  point  has  come  before  us  here  more 
fundamental,  practical,  and  important  than  the  question,  What  is  the 
primary  and  leading  purpoise  of  the  Normal  School  ? 

Nor  is  it  any  valid  objection  that  we  do  not  yet  work  up  to  our 
theory  of  advanced  qualifications  for  admission.  Who  of  us  has 
reached  his  own  standard  in  moral  or  intellectual  culture  ?  And  yet 
are  not  our  attainments  likely  to  be  proportioned  to  the  elevation  of 
our  aims.  Certainly  if  our  standard  is  low,  our  practice  will  be 
lower.  In  Massachusetts  the  standard  for  admission  to  our  Normal 
Schools  has  been  steadily  advancing,  and  the  next  five  years,  it  is 
confidently  believed,  will  witness  greater  progress  in  this  direction 
than  has  yet  been  made  in  twenty  years. 

It  is  objected  that  in  some  States  a  high  standard  would  exclude 
all  applicants.  Then  yield  to  the  compulsion  of  necessity,  till  an 
advanced  public  sentiment  and  increasing  culture  remove  the  diffi- 
culty, and  the  earnest  advocacy  of  the  true  theory  of  Normal  Schools 
will  hasten  the  coming  of  that  good  time,  while  the  opposite  view 
will  prolong  the  evil.  The  Normal  School  should  no  longer  be 
regarded  as  in  any  degree  a  competitor  of  the  high  school,  academy, 
or  college,  and  those  who  have  completed  the  full  course  of  the  high 
school  or  academy  will  be  most  interested  and  profited  by  the 
special  and  professional  learning  of  the  Normal  School. 

The  Prksident  said  :  We  differ  in  practice  only,  while  we  agree 
in  theory,  and  the  diflference  in  practice  is  the  result  of  the  circum- 
stances in  which  we  are  placed. 

Gen.  H.  K.  Olivkr  said  he  was  present  at  the  examination  of 
the  cadets  at  West  Point,  in  1847,  and  the  results  there  illustrate 
very  well  what  the  Normal  School  should  aim  at.  At  that  time 
one  of  the  cade's  was  called  out,  his  name  being  taken  from  the 
roll  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  examiners,  and  he  was  required 
to  take  the  command  of  the  battalion  and  control  its  movements  on 
the  field  in  the  presence  of  his  own  commander  and  of  the  exam- 
iners. Then  another  and  another,  to  the  number  of  half  a  dozen  or 
more,  were  thus  called  out,  without  previous  notice,  to  take  the 
command. 

These  young  men  evinced  a  promptness  and  skill  in  command- 
ing that  proved  them  competent  to  have  a  company  in  their  charge. 
That  kind  ^f  traming  is  what  teachers  need  ;  to  be  so  qualified  by 
previous  drilling  as  well  as  instruction,  that  they  can  take  the  com- 


4:6  AMERICAN   NORMAL    SCHOOL   CONVENTION. 

mand  of  their  corps  of  pupils  and  carry  on  the  school  with  efficiency 
and  certainty  of  success. 

Gen.  O.  concluded  by  expressing  the  opinion  that  every  one  who 
aims  to  become  a  teacher  must  have  an  opportunity  of.  witnessing 
good  teaching  as  well  as  listening  to  lectures  on  methods. 

Dr.  McJiL  I  ON  thought  th.  y  had  settled  the  question,  that  the 
teacher  must  be  taughc  how  to  teach.  To  do  this,  he  conceived 
there  must  be  proper  mstrucion  and  practice  combined.  The 
academy  and  college,  he  thought,  could  never  supply  the  demand 
for  teachers.  In  the  Normal  School,  he  whom  nature  has  fitted 
for  a  teacher  can  have  his  powers  properly  developed  and  exer- 
cised. 

There  is  a  great  work  to  be  done  to  prepare  teachers  for  their 
labor.  He  would  have  instruction  in  the  branches  to  be  taught 
combined  with  special  training  for  the  work  of  teaching.  The 
elementary  branches  are  of  vast  importance,  and  should  be  attended 
to  in  the  Normal  School. 

G.  N.  B1GE1.UW,  Esq.,  Principal  of  the  Normal  School  at  Fram- 
ingham,  Mass.,  said  :  I  desire  to  answer  the  question  as  to  how 
the  good  teachers  in  the  gymnasia,  in  Prussia  are  made.  I  think 
that  in  addition  to  the  fact  that  they  have  had  ten  years'  excellent 
training  under  good  teachers,  and  then  four  years  in  the  university, 
where,  it  is  true,  they  are  not  much  helped  ;  they  go  into  the 
classes  to  teach,  some  in  mathematics,  others  in  hist'  ry,  and  are 
watched  over,  and  if  not  found  successful,  they  are  dropped  ;  but  if 
found  successful,  they  are  allowed  to  go  on  year  after  year,  teach- 
ing the  same  branches.  I  know  one  teacher  who  taught  math- 
ematics thirty  years,  and,  if  living,  he  is  teaching  in  his  thirty-fifth 
year.     A  man  who  teaches  thus,  can  teach  pretty  well. 

I  have  heard  our  scholars  say  they  are  almost  discouraged 
because  they  hear  so  much  about  the  soundness  and  thoroughness 
of  the  German  teachers,  who  teach  without  any  book.  But  I  am 
prepared  to  say  that  with  the  same  preparation  and  the  same  schol- 
arship, our  teachers  will  teach  better  than  they  do.  The  informa- 
tion of  some  who  graduate  from  the  gymnasia  is  not  such  as  we 
should  be  satisfied  with  in  the  scholars  of  our  high  schools  in  some 
respects.  Their  knowledge  of  the  geography  of  distant  countries 
is  not  so  good  as  it  is  even  among  our  own  teachers.  In  many 
things  we  are  far  behind  them,  while  in  others  we  surpass  them. 


REMARKS    OF   PROF.    PHELPS.  47 

On  motion,  by  Mr.  Northrop,  the  further  discussion  of  the  sub- 
ject was  suspended. 

Mr.  C.  E.  HovEY,  of  Bloomington,  Illinois,  then  read  a  paper  on 
"  Model  Schools,  Schools  of  Practice,  or  Experimental  Schools." 

On  motion  of  Rev.  E.  C.  Wines,  the  following  resolution  was 
adopted  : 

Resolved,  That  the  cordial  thanks  of  this  Association  be  ten- 
dered to  the  Hon.  Richard  S.  Field,  for  his  generous  invitation  to 
entertain  the  members  of  the  Association  at  his  mansion,  in  Prince- 
ton, on  Friday  next,  and  that  we  cheerfully  accept  the  invitation  to 
visit  the  literary  institutions  of  Princeton,  and  partake  of  his  hospi- 
talities on  that  day. 

Adjourned. 


WEDNESDAY    EVENING. 

On  recommendation  of  the  Committee  on  Nominations,  the  offi- 
cers of  the  Association  for  the  last  year  were  re-elected  as  follows  : 
Wm  F.  Phelps,  of  N.  J.,  Pres.  A.  Holbrook,  Ohio,  Vice-Pres. 

Geo.  N.  Bigelovv,  Mass.,  Vice-Pres.       B.  G.  Northrop,  Mass.,  Secretary. 

David  N.  Camp,  Conn.,       "        "  J.  A.  Bartholomew,  Conn.,         " 

Dana  P.  Colburn,  E.  I.,      "        '*  John  W.  Dickinson,  Treas. 

David  H.  Cochran,  N.Y.,    "       "  John  W.  Bulkley,  N.  Y.,  Councilor. 

Charles  E.  Hovey,  111.,        "        "  Philip  A   Cregar,  Penn. , 

Richard  Edwards,  Mo.,       "       "  Alpheus  Crosby,  Mass., 

A.  S.  Welch,  Mich.,  "        '*  Miss  Irene  B.  Colby, 

A.  S.  Robertson,  C.  West,    "       "  "    Martha  Kingman,  Mass., 

Monk,  P.  Ed.  Island,  "        "  *'    Frances  P.  Morrit,     " 

Chauveaii,  C.  East,     "        "  '*    Eliza  B.  Woodward,  'J 

John  Ogden,  Ohio,  "        " 

Prof.  Chas.  E.  Hovey  declined  the  office  of  Vice-President,  but 
no  action  was  taken  on  the  subject. 

A  valuable  and  practical  address  on  the  Normal  School  System 
of  Massachusetts  was  given  by  the  Hon.  Geo.  S.  Boutwell,  of 
Mass.  We  very  much  regret  that  our  excellent  and  accurate  re- 
porter did  not  furnish  a  sketch  of  it. 

Prof.  Phelps  explained  a  former  remark  of  his  by  saying  he  did 
not  mean  to  be  understood  as  claiming  that  the  best  method  of  teach- 
ing the  art  of  teaching  was  to  teach  any  particular  branch  in  the 
be^t  possible  way  ;  but  he  simply  put  the  question  if  that  was  not 
one  uf  the  best  methods.      We  do  not  claim  that  there  is  any  one  best 


48  AMERICAN    NORMAL    SCHOOL    CONVENTION. 

method^  but  that  Normal  School  best  fulfilU  its  objects  which  most 
judiciously  combines  all  the  most  approved  methods. 

Gov.  BouTWELL  responded  that  he  only  desired  to  show  what 
was  the  theory  that  should  be  adhered  to,  although  they  were  often 
obliged  to  yield  to  circumstances  and  admit  pupils  less  qualified  than 
they  should  be. 

The  best  teaching  in  Massachusetts  is  not  generally  by  the  best 
educated  men.  Provision  was  made  in  1853  for  educating  forty- 
eight  young  tneii  at  the  colleges  of  the  State,  the  State  paying  part 
of  the  expense,  upon  the  express  agreement  that  the  recipients  of 
this  favor  should  teach  four  years  in  the  schools  of  the  State  or  re- 
fund the  money  ;  and  there  was  a  provision  that  these  graduates 
should  have  the  privilege  of  attending  a  Normal  School  one  term. 
We  have  not  been  able  to  get  one  of  them  into  a  Normal  School.  I 
do  not  know  what  the  influence  of  college  life  is,  lihat  it  leads  them 
to  suppose  they  are  educated  in  the  art  of  teaching  when  they  leave 
college. 

Prof.  C.  E.  HovEY,  of  Bloomington,  Illinois,  wished  to  inquire 
if  there  is  now,  or  ever  has  been,  a  Normal  School  where  four 
fifths  of  the  time  was  not  spent  in  teaching  the  branches  of  learn- 
ing, and  only  one  fifth  in  teaching  the  art  of  teaching. 

Gov.  BouTWELL  replied,  that  he  was  willing  to  admit  that  the 
proportion  was  as  suggested  ;  but  still,  we  must  work  with  a  def- 
inite plan,  and  must  keep  the  distinction  which  has  been  again  and 
again  presented  between  Normal  Schools  and  others. 

Mr.  Emerson  stated,  to  prevent  misapprehension  in  regard  to 
the  State  scholarships  of  Massachusetts,  that  only  one  class  had 
graduated  since  they  were  established.  Only  nine  students  have 
come  out  who  could  enjoy  the  advantages  of  it.  To  enjoy  them, 
they  must  occupy  a  position  in  the  first  half  of  their  class  ;  and 
some  of  them  got  below  that.  He  did  not  think  a  class  would 
easily  be  got  into  a  Normal  School  where  they  would  not  need  to 
teach  four  times  as  much  fact  as  of  the  art  of  teaching.  But  there 
is  such  a  thing  as  teaching  the  art  of  teaching  the  very  elements  — 
the  alphabet,  counting,  etc. 

Prof.  Crosby  stated  that  graduates  of  colleges  had  attended  some 
of  the  Normal  Schools  of  Massachusetts,  and  asked  Mr.  Dickinson, 
of  Westfield,  to  state  if  some  had  not  been  in  his  school. 

Prof.  D.  P.  CoLBURNj  of  the  R.  I.  Normal  School,  said  he  had 


REMARKS    OF   MR.    COLBURN.  49 

known  college  graduates  in  the  Normal  Schools  of  Massachusetts 
and  Connecticut ;  and  some  who  are  attending  college  have  attend- 
ed the  Normal  School  of  Rhode  Island. 

Mr.  Peckham,  of  Newark,  said  that  college  graduates  had  at- 
tended the  Normal  School  in  Newark. 

Mr.  Dickinson,  of  Westfield,  Mass.,  said  that  one  gentleman 
who  was  a  graduate  of  a  Normal  School  before  entering  college, 
had  returned  after  leaving  college,  and  two  others  had  been  in  the 
school  at  Westfield  ten  weeks.  They  manifested  the  same  good 
spirit  which  actuates  other  members  of  the  class. 

Mr.  RowE,  of  New  York,  knew  two  others,  one  of  whom  had 
graduated  twenty-four  years  before  he  entered  the  Normal  School, 
where  he  spent  four  months. 

Prof.  D.  N.  Camp,  of  the  Connecticut  Normal  School,  said  it  was 
not  uncommon  for  graduates  of  Yale  College  to  join  the  Normal 
School  before  teaching,  though  they  do  not  usually  spend  a  long 
time  there.  There  have  been  instances  of  graduates  who  have 
gone  through  the  whole  course  and  taken  a  diploma. 

Mr.  HovEY  did  not  believe  any  graduate  of  a  college  would  enter 
a  Normal  School  if  he  had  been  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the 
elementary  branches  before  he  entered  college.  If  the  theory  of 
Normal  Schools  is  to  be  that  you  are  only  to  teach  the  art  of  teach- 
ing, no  Normal  School  can  be  supported  three  months  in  the  United 
States.  You  can  not  drive  a  man  into  one  who  understands  per- 
fectly well  the  subject-matter  he  is  to  teach.  To  get  methods  of  teach- 
ing is  not  the  thing  that  takes  students  to  these  schools.  They  want 
not  only  to  know  how  to  teach,  but  what  to  teach,  and  why  such  a 
thing  is  taught  in  a  particular  way.  Those  schools  that  teach  the 
subjects  as  well  as  the  way  to  teach  them,  turn  out  'he  best  teachers. 
My  idea,  said  Mr.  H.,  is,  that  a  true  Normal  School  is  one  where 
they  aim  to  give  their  students  :  first,  what  to  teach — let  them  know 
as  much  as  possible  before  they  come,  provided  they  do  not  know 
so  much  they  will  not  come  ;  then,  how  to  teach. 

Mr.  CoLBURs — I  did  not  think  of  rising  ;  but  an  allusion  has 
been  made  to  my  own  teacher,  Mr.  Tillinghast,  a  man  whose  mem- 
ory I  shall  always  cherish,  who  has  done  as  much  as  any  teacher 
in  this  country,  and  has  left  his  mark  deeply  on  his  pupils. 

1  wish  to  speak  of  his  course  in  the  Normal  School.  He  did 
the  work  which  the  gentleman  from  Illinois  has  indicated,  that  of 

3 


50  AMERICAN   NORMAL   SCHOOL    CONVENTION. 

instructing  in  the  branches  to  be  taught ;  not  because  he  believecl 
it  was  his  duty  to  do  that  as  a  teacher  of  a  Normal  School.  I  know 
that ;  for  I  was  a  teacher  with  him  three  years,  and  I  was  a  mem- 
ber of  his  family  for  some  time,  and  therefore  1  know  perfectly  what 
his  views  were  on  that  point.  He  felt  that  teaching  the  elements 
was  not  his  appropriate  work ;  he  regretted  that  he  was  under  the 
necessity  of  doing  it,  and  he  tried  to  relieve  himself  of  it  as  much 
as  possible.  He  came  to  that  school  without  much  knowledge  of 
methods  ;  he  saw  the  defects  and  the  excellences  in  existing  insti- 
tutions, and  he  worked  out  his  own  plans,  which  his  pupils  have 
carried  out  in  their  schools  with  great  success.  His  practice,  his 
theory,  his  life  will  not  warrant  the  inference  of  the  gentleman  from 
Illinois,  that  Mr.  Tillinghast  preferred  to  teach  the  art  of  teaching 
by  drilling  in  the  branches  to  be  taught. 

Mr.  F.  A.  Sawyer,  of  Charleston,  S.  C  — It  seems  to  me  that 
the  remarks  of  gentlemen  do  not  reveal  a  decided  difference,  but 
are  views  from  different  stand-points.  It  is  true  that  the  subjects 
which  we  are  to  learn,  how  to  teach  in  Normal  Schools,  must  be 
taught  there  as  to  their  principles.  We  must  not  only  learn  how  to 
teach  arithmetic,  grammar,  etc.,  but  we  must  learn  the  branches 
themselves.  In  the  High  Schools  they  are  taught  as  an  end,  but 
in  the  Normal  Schools  they  are  used  as  an  instrument  to  gain  an 
end.  It  is  utterly  impossible  for  me  to  show  you  how  to  weave 
unless  I  have  the  warp  and  woof.  I  can  not  teach  how  to  teach 
arithmetic  or  geography  unless  I  use  the  facts  in  those  sciences  to 
illustrate.  Undoubtedly  the  theory  of  a  Normal  School  is,  that  it 
is  a  place  to  learn  to  teach.  It  is  equally  obvious  to  me  that  the 
knowledge  of  every  one  of  the  branches  to  be  taught  must  be  there 
brought  out  in  the  best  possible  manner  ;  and  while  Mr.  Tillinghast 
was  giving  instruction  in  the  branches,  he  was  acting  on  this  very 
theory.  His  main  object  was  to  teach  teachers  how  to  teach,  and 
at  the  same  time  he  used  these  branches  as  the  tools  of  his  trade. 
So  that  it  seems  to  me  that  both  sets  of  opinions  agree. 

I  presume  we  all  agree  that  the  object  of  Normal  Schools  is  to 
raise  teachers,  and  not  to  give  primary  instruction  ;  and  at  the 
same  time,  there  is  not,  and  probably  never  will  be,  one  that  works 
up  completely  to  its  theory.  We  work  up  to  no  standard  fully ;  we 
only  work  approximately.  That  is  no  reason  why  we  should  not 
keep  the  aim  high  and  do  what  we  can  to  reach  it.     A  man  may 


KEMAUKS    OF   DE.    WINES.  51 

lecture  on  methods  of  teaching  all  his  life  and  not  make  good 
teachers.  It  is  necessary  that  he  should  show  his  method  of 
teaching. 

There  is  a  great  advantage  in  a  Normal  class  being  thoroughly 
acquainted  with  the  principles  of  the  branches  of  study,  for  then 
the  attention  may  be  directed  to  the  methods  entirely. 

Mr.  CoLBURN — I  suppose  no  one  will  say  the  practice  comes  up 
to  the  theory.  The  same  is  true  in  the  Grammar  School.  But  I  do 
not  believe  any  one  can  teach  that  which  he  does  not  know  him- 
self. The  knowledge  must  be  had,  whether  it  is  obtained  in  the 
Normal  School  or  elsewhere.  The  person  who,  in  the  Normal 
School,  has  to  give  all  his  attention  to  learning  the  subjects,  can 
give  none  to  methods. 

A  committee,  consisting  of  Gen.  H.  K.  Oliver,  Rev.  E.  C.  Wines, 
D.D.,  Frederick  A.  Sawyer,  John  Ogden,  and  John  S.  Hart,  were  ap- 
pointed to  prepare  and  report  resolutions  relating  to  the  life,  char- 
acter, and  educational  labors  of  Hon.  Horace  Manx. 


THURSDAY     MORNING. 
The  Association  met  at  half-past  nine  ;  prayer  was  offered  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Wines,  and  the  minutes  were  read  by  the  Secretary. 

DISCUSSION    RESUMED. 

The  subject  in  order  this  morning  was  the  discussion  of  thepa- 
per  presented  by  Mr.  Hovey,  of  Illinois  ;  but  gentlemen  who  took 
the  floor  seemed  rather  to  fix  their  thoughts  upon  the  general  topic 
previously  considered,  that  of  the  sphere  of  Normal  Schools. 

Dr.  ^.  C.  Wines,  of  St.  Louis,  said  :  Mr.  President — Thus 
far,  in  the  deliberations  of  this  body,  I  have  been  a  mere  listener — 
an  attentive,  delighted,  instructed  listener.  I  have  heard  much 
here  which  has  enlightened  my  mind,  as  well  as  refreshed  and 
cheered  my  spirit.  With  most  that  has  been  advanced  in  the  dis- 
cussions on  this  occasion,  so  far  as  I  had  formed  opinions  at  all  upon 
the  points  under  consideration,  I  heartily  concur.  From  a  few  of 
the  sentiments  expressed,  I  feel  constrained  to  dissent.  I  have  never 
had  the  honor  or  the  pleasure  to  be  personally  connected  with  a 
Normal  School ;  although  I  may  claim,  I  hope  without  arrogance 
or  presumption,  to   have   been  a  pioneer  in  the  movement  which 


52  AMERICAN   NORMAL    SCHOOL    CONVENTION. 

looked  toward  the  establishment  of  Normal  Schools  in  this  my  native 
State.  More  than  twenty-five  years  ago  I  read  a  paper  in  favor  of 
the  establishment  of  this  class  of  institutions  in  an  Educational  Con- 
vention in  Princeton,  of  which  the  late  venerable  Drs.  Miller  and 
Alexander  were  members.  As  soon  as  Mr.  Cousin's  celebrated 
work  on  the  Prussian  system  of  education  came  out,  I  prepared  and 
published  an  extended  review  of  it.  In  1836  or  1837,  I  published 
a  book — "  Hints  on  Popular  Education" — in  which  my  convictions 
of  the  utility  and  importance  of  Normal  Schools  were  set  forth  at 
length  and  with  as  much  strength  of  language  and  force  of  reason- 
ing as  I  could  command.  And  during  a  period  of  some  fifteen 
years — from  1833  to  1848 — I  published  various  papers  and  deliv- 
ered numerous  lectures  and  addresses,  in  different  parts  of  this 
State,  in  favor  of  the  institution  of  schools  for  the  professional 
training  of  teachers.  I  refer  to  these  things,  not  by  way  of  boast 
— I  trust  that  I  am  free  from  such  contemptible  vanity — but  to  show 
that,  although  I  have  never  given  instruction  in  a  Normal  School, 
yet  this  class  of  institutions  is  not  altogether  unfamiliar  to  my 
thoughts  and  studies. 

And  now,  sir,  I  desire  to  say  a  word  or  two  on  a  question  which 
has  elicited  much  discussion  on  this  floor,  and  developed  consid- 
erable difference  of  opinion — I  mean  the  true  theory  qf  the  Normal 
School — a  question,  Mr.  President,  which  you  have,  more  than 
once  since  this  meeting  commenced,  truly  designated  as  one  of  grave 
importance. 

The  eminent  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  (Gov.  Boutwell) 
who  addressed  us  with  so  much  wisdom  and  eloquence  last 'even- 
ing, holds  that  the  true  theory  of  the  Normal  School  is,  that  it  is  an 
institution  designed  solely  and  exclusively  for  teaching  the  science 
and  the  art  of  teaching,  though  he  admitted  that  we  never  had 
reached,  and  never  could  reach,  that  ideal.  The  gentleman  from 
Illinois  (Prof.  Hovey)  holds,  or  seems  to  hold,  that  the  proper 
theory  of  the  Normal  School  is,  that  it  is  an  institution  designed  to 
teach  the  various  branches  of  human  knowledge  themselves  in  the 
best  manner,  and,  hy  so  teaching  them,  impart  to  the  learners  the 
ability  to  teach  them  themselves.  Now,  I  am  free  to  confess  that  these 
views  strike  me  as  extreme  in  the  two  opposite  directions  which  opin- 
ion on  this  point  may  take.  So  they  struck  the  gentleman  from  South 
Carolina  (Mr.  Sawyer),  whose  speech,  in  my  judgment,  would  have 


REMAKKS    OF    DK.    WINES.  53 

left  little  to  be  said  if  he  had  not  yielded  the  theory  advanced  by 
the  orator  of  last  evening  (Gov.  Boutweil). 

Now,  iMr.  President,  what  is  the  Normal  School  l  It  is  a  pro- 
fessional institution,  resembling,  in  this  respect,  our  medical,  theo- 
logical, law,  and  military-  schools.  And  here  I  can  not  but  express 
a  very  slight  dissent  from  the  view  entertained  by  my  old  and 
highly  esteemed  friend,  Dr.  Hart,  that  the  Normal  School  differs 
essentially  from  the  other  institutions  called  professional,  in  that  it 
aims  to  teach  the  art  of  teaching,  and  so  to  make  teachers,  while 
they  aim  only  to  make  practitioners.  Now  the  fact  is  undoubtedly  so, 
yet  it  does  not,  as  I  conceive,  involve  any  difference  m  principle  be- 
tween this  and  other  professional  schools,  but  only  a  difference  in 
method  or  detail.  All  professional  institutions  alike — the  Normal 
School  included — aim  to  impart  knowledge  and  skill  in  some  par- 
ticular business,  some  one  or  other  of  the  practical  arts  of  life.  The 
medical  college  aims  to  impart  ability  in  the  business  of  healing  the 
sick  ;  the  law  school,  in  defending  the  right  and  in  bringing  wrong- 
doers to  justice  ;  the  theological  seminary,  in  leading  men  to  re- 
pentance, faith,  and  good  works  ;  the  military  academy,  in  con- 
ducting the  multifarious  operations  of  war.  Precisely  in  the  same 
way  the  Normal  School  aims  to  impart  to  some  men  ability  in  the 
business  of  teaching  other  men.  The  general  object  of  all  these 
various  institutions  is  one — that  of  preparing  men  for  some  special 
pursuit  m  life  ;  the  particular  objects  differ  greatly,  which  must 
necessarily  give  rise  to  some  difference  in  the  methods  of  pros- 
ecuting the  general  object. 

Mr.  President,  this  brings  us  to  a  point  from  which  we  are  pre- 
pared, I  think,  to  take  another  step,  intelligently,  in  our  study  of 
the  true  theory  of  the  Normal  School.  Since  the  Normal  School 
is  essentially  the  same  in  principle  as  other  professional  schools,  it 
would  seem  to  follow  that  a  just  theory  of  the  Normal  School  will 
correspond,  in  ail  essential  particulars,  with  the  true  theory  of  other 
professional  institutions.  If,  then,  we  can  get  at  the  true  theory  of 
medical,  law,  divinity,  and  military  schools,  we  shall  not  be  very  far 
from  a  solution  of  the  question  before  us,  viz.,  the  true  theory  of  the 
Normal  School.  Happily,  these  institutions  have  been  so  long  in 
existence,  and  are  so  well  settled  in  their  principles  and  practice, 
that  all  here  is  light  and  certainty.  The  true  idea  of  a  medical  col- 
lege is  not  that  it  is  designed  simply  to  teach  the  theory  and  prac- 


54  AMERICAN    NORMAL    SCHOOL    CONVENTION. 

tice  of  medicine,  but  also  all  the  wide  range  of  knowledge  connected 
with  that  profession.  The  true  theory  of  a  divinity  school  is  not 
that  it  is  an  institution  designed  solely  to  impart  the  art  and  mys- 
tery of  making  and  delivering  sermons,  but  also  to  teach  theolojjy, 
exegesis,  ecclesiastical  history,  and  all  other  knowledge  needful  to 
the  successful  preacher.  So  of  the  other  professional  schools  re- 
ferred to.  The  primary  object  of  all  is  to  impart  skill  in  some  par- 
ticular profession  ;  but,  as  subsidiary  and  conducive  to  this,  they  all 
alike  aim  to  impart  at  the  same  time  the  knowledge  belonging  to 
that  profession.  What,  for  instance,  would  be  thought  of  a  divinity 
school  which  should  require  of  its  candidates  to  be  versed  in  theol- 
ogy before  entering,  and  should  confine  its  actual  curriculum  to  the 
department  of  homiletics,  i.  e.,  to  the  science  and  art  of  sermon- 
izing ?  What  would  be  thought  of  a  military  academy  which  should 
require,  as  a  condition  of  entrance,  that  its  cadets  be  acquainted  with 
the  mathematical,  historical,  and  other  knowledge  necessary  to  the 
military  profession,  and  should  limit  its  actual  labors  to  the  endeavor 
to  impart  the  additional  knowledge  of  the  art  of  fortification  and  mil- 
itary tactics  ?  The  theory,  then,  of  all  professional  schools,  other 
than  the  Normal,  is,  that  they  not  only  train  their  students  to  the  spe- 
cial duties  of  their  several  professions,  but  also  impart  to  them  the 
essential  knowledge,  or  knowledges,  belonging  to  those  professions. 
Does  the  Normal  School  form  an  exception  ?  If  so,  upon  what 
principle  is  its  exceptional  character  based  ?  If  such  exceptional 
principle  exist,  I  have  never  yet  perceived  it,  and  would  be  glad  to 
have  it  pointed  out.  With  the  light  I  now  possess,  and  after  bestow- 
ing the  best  thought  upon  the  subject  which  I  can  command,  I  am 
brought  to  the  conclusion  that  the  just  and  true  theory  of  the  Normal 
School  is,  that  it  is,  in  the  strict  and  proper  sense,  a  professional 
institution,  and  that  it  should  aim,  primarily,  to  impart  to  its  pupils 
a  thorough  preparation  for  their  future  profession  of  teaching,  and, 
secondarily,  an  ample  and  complete  knowledge  of  the  branches  of 
learning  properly  belonging  to  that  profession.  And  I  can  not 
but  look  upon  any  theory  of  these  institutions,  which  confines  them 
to  the  labor  of  imparting  to  their  students,  simply  and  solely,  the 
science  and  the  art  of  teachings  as  not  sufliciently  broad,  compre- 
hensive, generous.  On  the  contrary,  such  a  theory  of  the  Normal 
School  seems  to  me  far  too  rigid,  narrow,  partial,,  pinched,  and 
chilling. 


REMARKS    OF   GOV.    BOUTWKLL.  55 

I  submit  these  views  with  a  very  great  and  cordial  respect  for 
the  opinions  of  a  contrary  kind  which  have  been  expressed,  and  for 
the  gentlemen  who  have  expressed  them.  It  did  seem  to  me,  last 
evening,  something  like  a  fog  or  mist  was  settling  down  upon  the 
question  ;  and  whether  I  have  done  anything  toward  clearing  away 
that  mist,  must  be  left  to  the  judgment  of  others  instead  of  myself. 

Gov.  BouTWELL  responded.  If  you  have  a  Normal  School,  will 
you  have  a  theory  as  to  what  it  shall  be  ?  Do  you  contemplate 
anything  ?  Do  you  mean  to  do  anything  that  other  people,  other 
schools,  other  institutions  do  not  contemplate  doing  ?  If  you  do 
not,  why  do  you  have  institutions  which  you  call  Normal  Schools, 
and  why  do  you  as.semble  here  as  the  representatives  of  this  partic- 
ular interest  of  education  in  the  country  ?  Does  any  man  say  that 
he  has  no  theory,  no  purpose,  no  idea,  that  he  does  not  contemplate 
doing  anything  different  from  what  other  people  do  ?  If  he  says 
that,  very  well ;  the  whole  thing  is  at  an  end.  But  if  you  say  you 
have  some  idea,  some  purpose  toward  which  your  efforts  shall  tend, 
then  wliat  is  it  ?  Is  it  to  teach  the  alphabet  ?  Is  it  nut  taught  in 
every  kind  of  institution  in  the  country  ?  Then  how  do  you  difft-r  ? 
Is  it  to  teach  the  multiplication  table  ?  Does  not  every  girl  of 
fifteen,  who  goes  out  to  teacti  in  the  public  schools,  teach  that? 
Why  do  you  expend  the  sums  yo-u  do  on  this  institution  ?  Is  it  to 
teach  geography  ?  What  claims  have  you  to  public  consideration 
on  that  ground  ?  None  at  all.  Have  you  not  enough  schools  to 
teach  that  more  cheaply  and  just  as  well  ?  Do  you  propose  to  make 
of  the  Normal  Schools  just  what  the  High  Schools  are  ?  Do  you 
propose  to  make  other  colleges  of  them  ?  Then  there  is  no  consid- 
eration in  their  favor  on  that  ground.  Your  xXormal  School  im  st 
have  distinctive  characteristics  based  upon  h;:;  distinctive  idea  of 
the  purpose  in  view,  or  else  they  are  nothing. 

Now,  what  is  your  theory  ?  I  say  it  is,  that  you  are  to  teach  the 
art  of  teaching.  Any  other  answer,  I  sui)mit,  is  liable  to  the  ob- 
jection I  have  already  indicated,  that  you  are  proposing  to  do,  in  a 
more  cumbrous  way,  that  which  other  people  are  doing  more  eco- 
nomically. Then,  if  you  must  have  a  theory,  and  if  that  theory 
inevitably  is  that  a  Normal  School  shall  teach  the  art  of  teaching, 
is  it  -any  objection  that  we  do  not  realize  our  theory  ?  I  admit  that 
we  have  not  realized  it  anywhere.  But  what  of  that  ?  I  said,  last 
evening,  that  the  theory  of  the  medical  profession  is  to  cure  all  the 


56  AMERICAN    NORMAL    SCHOOL    CONVENTION. 

ills  that  flesh  is  heir  to,  but  I  said  they  had  failed  ;  so  the  law 
schools  have  failed.  The  gentleman  from  St.  Louis  (Dr.  Wines) 
says  the  theory  of  the  law  school  is  to  enable  gentlemen  to  defend 
the  right  and  oppose  the  wrong.  I  admit  that  is  the  theory,  and  I 
will  not  say  how  near  the  practice  has  come  to  it.     (Laughter.) 

To  some  extent  the  Normal  School  is  a  professional  school,  un- 
derlying all  other  schools  ;  and  with  all  respect  to  those  schools,  it 
would  be  of  great  advantage  if  persons  who  conduct  them  had  the 
power  which  the  Normal  School  would  give  them.     (Applause.) 

"  Twice  two  are  four  ;  twice  three  are  six  ;  twice  four  are  eight." 
Do  you  have  any  evidence  from  that  recitation  that  I  can  teach  the 
multiplication  table  ?  None  at  all.  But  if  the  suggestions  made 
here  are  true,  it  follows  that  a  person  who  has  learned  the  multi- 
plication table  by  heart  has  nothing  more  to  do  to  enable  him 
to  teach  it.  If  a  person  can  repeat  the  multiplication  table  up  to 
ten,  does  it  follow  that  he  is  too  far  advanced  to  enter  the  Normal 
School  ?  Suppose,  at  a  military  school,  the  order  were  given  to 
shoulder  arms,  and  the  cadet  should  proceed  to  make  a  musket ! 
That  would  be  like  the  teacher  attempting  to  teach  before  he  has 
made  himself  acquainted  with  the  use  of  the  arts  which  he  would 
teach,  and  the  best  method  of  teaching  them. 

1  fear  that  if  this  Convention  shall  allow  the  idea  to  go  abroad 
that  it  is  contemplated  by  the  managers  and  supporters  of  Normal 
Schools  to  do  what  is  done  elsewhere,  the  public  will  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  all  these  things  can  be  done  cheaper  at  other 
schools.  But  if  we  contemplate  teaching  the  art  of  teaching  only, 
it  is  the  common  lot  of  humanity  that  we  have  failed  thus  far  in 
realizing  our  ideal.  But  let  us  maintain  the  doctrine  that  the  busi- 
ness is  to  teach  the  art  of  teaching,  and  that  we  will  receive  pupils 
only  who  are  prepared  to  enter  at  once  upon  the  course  of  in- 
struction. 

Prof.  WicKEKSHAM  called  attention  to  the  question  for  discussion, 
which  was  the  paper  of  Prof.  Hovey. 

The  President  said  he  had  waited  for  some  gentleman  to  call 
attention  to  it. 

Dr.  lMcJilton  desired  to  have  the  present  discussion  continued. 

Prof.  VViCKERSHAM  did  not  believe  there  was  any  practical  point 
before  the  Association.  There  was  no  gentleman  who  doubted 
that  the  business  of  a  Normal  School  is  to  teach  the  art  of  teaching. 


REMARKS  OF  PROFS.  HART  AND  PHELPS.         67 

There  is  not,  however,  a  Normal  School  in  the  country  that  can,  at 
present,  dispense  with  giving  academical  instruction.  The  question 
is  therefore  settled  practically,  let  the  theory  be  as  it  may. 

Prof.  W.  then  referred  to  the  topic  of  Prof.  Hovey's  paper, 
which  was  "  Model  Schools,  Schools  for  Practice,  Experimental 
Schools."  He  had  heard  in  Pennsylvania  three  objections  against 
model  schools.  First,  that  the  classes  in  the  school  are  very  much 
disarranged  when  members  of  the  Normal  School  are  sent  in  for 
practice.  The  student  teachers  of  the  Normal  School  also  com- 
plain that  the  time  they  spend  in  the  model  scho  is  is  not  sufficient, 
that  they  learn  very  little  as  to  modes  of  teaching  in  them.  The 
people  of  the  towns  where  they  are,  also  complain  that  their  chil- 
dren are  sent  to  the  model  school  to  be  experimented  upon  ;  that 
they  are  placed  in  the  hands  of  unskillful  teachers,  and  that  the 
instruction  is  changed  from  day  to  day.  We,  in  Pennsylvania,  want 
to  hear  how  these  objections  can  be  answered 

Prof.  Hart,  of  Philadelphia,  said  that  in  the  model  school  there, 
the  instruction  was  so  much  better  than  in  the  other  schools,  there 
was  the  greatest  competition  on  the  part  of  parents  to  get  their  chil- 
dren into  it.  They  have  there,  in  each  school  of  practice,  one  per- 
manent teacher  who  has  charge  all  the  time,  and  the  pupil  teachers 
from  the  Normal  School  come  down  two  at  a  time  and  take  charge 
under  the  direction  of  the  professional,  skilled  teacher. 

Prof.  Crosby  being  called  to  the  chair,  Prof.  Phelps  first  spoke 
of  the  different  terms  used  in  the  title  of  the  paper  read  by  Prof. 
Hovey.  The  three  names  distinctly  enough  indicate  what  is  ex- 
pected to  be  accomplished  by  that  branch  of  the  Normal  School 
establishment.  First,  it  is  a  model  for  the  future  teacher  to  study  ; 
and  if  we  go  hack  historically,  we  shall  find  that  the  model  school 
was  the  origmal  Normal  School,  where  the  art  of  teaching  was 
studied,  and  where  the  information  obtained  by  observing  the  model- 
school  instruction  was  carried  out  in  the  practice  of  the  teachers. 

Secondly,  another  idea  is,  that  those  who  visit  shall  take  part  in 
the  instruction  of  the  model  schools.  Therefore  the  model  school 
answers  the  purpose  of*a  school  of  practice  or  experimental  school. 
It  is  used,  also,  to  test  the  ability  of  the  student  to  teach  ;  and 
sometimes  it  is  made  the  final  test  of  the  fitness  of  the  teacher,  and 
sometimes  diplomas  are  refused  to  graduates  because  they  are  not 
successful  here. 

3* 


58  AMEKICAN   NOKMAL    SCHOOL    CONVE>rTION. 

It  is  true,  as  Prof.  Wickersham  has  suggested,  that  the  pupils  of 
the  Normal  Schofl  are  somewhat  interrupted  in  their  studies  by 
their  visits  to  the  model  school,  and  I  do  not.  know  how  that  can  be 
avoided.  But  my  experience  has  been  that  though  there  is  this  dis- 
advantage, it  is  more  than  compensated  for  by  the  practice  wh'ch  they 
obtain.  As  to  the  objection  of  parents,  that  their  children  are  exper- 
imented upon,  it  is  more  imaginary  than  real.  It  was  my  fortune  to 
have  charge  of  one  experimental  school  for  eight  years,  in  which 
there  was  no  permanent  teacher,  and  all  the  instruction  was  given 
by  the  Normal  class.  Each  member  was  required  to  observe  one 
week  and  then  teach  a  week.  Of  course  the  instruction  was  very 
much  varied  and  there  were  disadvantages  from  it.  Nevertheless, 
that  school  was  so  popular,  that  there  were  always  applications  in 
advance,  sometimes  twice  as  many  as  could  be  received,  and  that 
too  in  the  face  of  the  fact  that  ten  and  twelve  dollars  per  session 
was  the  charge  for  each  scholar.  Practically,  therefore,  these  ob- 
jections are  all  answered  ;  because  these  schools  do  exist  and  are 
very  successful  notwithstanding  them. 

In  the  school  connected  with  this  institution,  the  main  thought  is 
to  afford  a  good  standard  for  observation  and  study.  We  want  every 
pupil  to  see  what  a  really  good  school  is.  That  is  our  first  thought. 
Secondly,  we  desire  to  give  them  practice  as  teachers.  But  we 
must  avoid  some  of  the  objections  which  will  be  made  on  the  part 
of  those  who  send  their  children  ;  and  so  we  adopt  this  expedient. 
In  each  department  there  is  a  permanent  teacher ;  and  the  instruc- 
tion during  the  first  session  of  teaching  by  the  Normal  School  pupils, 
is  under  the  constant,  direct  supervision  of  the  permanent  teacher, 
who  may  suggest  improvements  as  they  are  called  for.  We  do  not 
send  any  Normal  School  pupil  to  teach  during  the  first  term  of  his 
or  her  attendance  here,  because  we  say  they  must  have  their  scholar- 
ship improved  before  we  will  allow  them  to  deal  with  these  young 
and  tender  minds.  Each  Normal  pupil  spends  one  week  in  each 
term  after  that,  in  the  experimental  or  model  school.  But  some- 
thing more  than  that  is  necessary  ;  so  we  have  another  school. 

There  was  established,  about  a  year  ago,  in  this  city,  a  school  for 
friendless  children.  They  were  brought  together  by  some  ladies, 
clothed  and  fed,  and  an  effort  was  made  to  instruct  them  and  train 
them  to  habits  of  usefulness.  The  question  was,  How  can  they  be 
instructed  ?     We  made  a  proposition  to  give  all  the  instruction  that 


REMARKS    OF   PKOF.    PHELPS.  59 

the  children  might  require  if  they  would  see  that  they  were  in  school 
each  day  at  a  given  hour.  We  fitted  up  a  room  and  the  children 
were  brought  into  it.  They  were  the  most  ungovernable  children  1 
ever  saw.  One  little  boy  only  four  years  old  used  oaths  such  as  I 
never  heard,  and  his  breath  was  so  offensive  with  liquor  that  a  per- 
son of  delicate  nerves  could  not  stand  near  him.  They  were  all 
over  the  room,  whistling  and  dancing.  Two  persons  were  selected 
from  our  most  advanced  class,  a  little  advice  was  given  them,  and 
they  were  required  to  go  into  that  room  and  bring  those  children 
under  subjection  ;  to  mark  out  a  course  of  study  for  them,  and  to  do 
by  them  as  all  children  should  be  done  by  in  a  good  school.  The 
first  three  or  four  days  were  dark  ones  to  those  teachers.  But  they 
went  at  it  with  hope  and  a  good  spirit ;  the  gentle  yet  powerful  in- 
fluence of  love  was  employed  ;  the  children  were  affectipnately 
dealt  with  for  the  first  time  in  their  lives.  In  consequence  of  that 
treatment,  in  two  weeks  they  were  brought  to  a  good  degree  of 
order ;  in  four  weeks  it  would  be  impossible  to  distinguish  between 
them  and  any  other  like  number  of  children  ;  and  at  the  end  of  four 
months  it  would  be  difficult  to  determine  that  they  did  not  belong  to 
the  better  classes  in  society.  An  exhibition  of  the  results  of  four 
months'  instruction  was  given  in  one  of  the  churches  of  the  city,  and 
the  result  satisfied  the  large  audience,  not  only  as  to  the  practica- 
bility of  experimental  schools,  but  also  as  to  the  almost  superhuman 
power  of  education,  when  it  is  conducted  according  to  the  true 
theory  ai.d  in  the  right  spirit. 

The  results  of  our  schools  have  settled  the  question  for  us,  of  the 
practicability  and  necessity  of  model  or  experimental  schools,  in 
connection  with  instruction  in  the  art  of  teaching.  I  look  upon  them 
as  indispensable  ;  I  do  not  think  a  Normal  School  is  complete  with- 
out them.  I  am  aware  that  there  have  been  failures  of  such  schools, 
but  I  think  there  were  adequate  causes ;  the  two  were  not  closely 
enough  united  under  one  general  administration  ;  they  must  be  parts 
of  ()  e  great  whole  in  order  to  be  useful  and  successful. 

I  admit  that  the  success  of  the  model  school  depends  very  much 
on  the  character  of  the  schools  in  the  vicinity. 

In  answer  to  an  inquiry  of  Dr.  McJilton,  Prof.  Phelps  said  that 
the  model  school  and  experimental  school  were  substantially  the 
same,  as  he  used  the  terms. 

Dr.  McJjLTON — Do  you  require  that  your  Normal  pupils  shall  be 


60  AMERICAN   NOKMAL    SCHOOL    CONVENTION. 

fully  instructed  in  the  branches  they  are  to  teach,  before  they  go 
into  the  model  school  to  teach  ? 

Prof.  Phelps — We  do  not.  They  are  to  have  five  months'  in- 
struction before  they  can  teach.  Our  students  are  so  poorly  pre- 
pared that  we  must  take  that  course. 

Mr.  D.  S.  RowE  inquired  if  those  sent  to  the  model  school  to 
teach  were  selected  with  reference  to  their  teaching  particular 
branches ;  to  which  Prof.  P.  replied  in  the  negative.  In  the  model 
school  here,  he  said,  there  are  eight  grades,  and  every  pupil  teacher 
during  his  course  has  an  opportunity  of  conducting  each  of  these 
grades. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Colburn,  all  further  discussion  was  suspended 
until  after  the  reading  of  the  next  two  papers. 

The.  first  paper  was  presented  by  John  Ogden,  Esq.,  on  the 
question — 

"  To  what  extent  can  the  art  of  Teaching  be  taught  in  our  Normal 
Schools  ?      What  are  the  lest  methods  of  doing  this  V 

1  To  what  extent  can  the  Art  of  Teaching  be  taught  in  the 
Normal  School  ? 

2.  What  are  the  best  methods  of  doing  this  ? 

These  inquiries,  as  has  been  demonstrated  in  the  discus- 
sions of  this  Association,  involve  the  necessity  or  useless- 
ness — the  utility  or  inutility — of  the  wliole  I^ormal  School 
enterprise.  All  will  agree  that  upon  the  extent  to  which 
special  instruction  or  professional  training  can  be  given  in 
Normal  Schools,  will  depend  their  superiority  for  fitting 
teachers  for  their  duties  over  other  literary  or  scientific  in- 
stitutions. If,  as  some  still  assert,  there  is  no  science  of 
education,  nor  art  of  teaching,  save  that  which  results  from 
a  knowledge  of  the  several  branches  of  study  ;  or,  admitting' 
there  is,  still  maintain  that  it  can  be  as  well  and  as  exten- 
sively taught  in  the  college,  the  academy,  and  the  common 
school,  under  their  present  organization,  as  in  the  Normal 
School,  then  indeed  it  would  seem  there  is  no  need  of  the 
latter,  and  we  are  found  here  advocating  a  false  claim. 


61 

But  twenty  years'  experience  in  ]^ormal  Schools  ought 
surely  to  have  given  us  sufficient  data  upon  which  to  pred- 
icate a  belief,  ^?'0  or  con.  It  is  high  time,  fellow-teachers, 
it  is  high  time  we  came  to  some. conclusion  upon  these  mat- 
ters. It  is  high  time  we  established  some  settled  policy  in 
reference  to  these  schools,  or  else  abandon  them  altogether. 
We  can  not  afford  to  be  forever  debating  the  question 
whether  there  is  or  is  not  a  Science  of  Education  ;  whether 
there  is  or  is  not  a  necessity  for  Normal  Schools.  If  there 
is,  we  ought  to  demonstrate  to  the  world  a  truth  that  aff'ects 
so  vitally  the  interests  of  education.  Our  time,  our  labor, 
our  energies  are  too  precious  to  squander  on  vague  and  un- 
certain speculations  concerning  the  Normal  School,  if  so  be 
it  is  not  a  reality — nay,  an  inevitable  necessity. 

It  is  not  our  purpose,  however,  to  discuss  those  issues 
any  further  than  what  will  result  from  arguments  involved 
in  determining  to  what  extent  the  art  of  teaching  can  be 
taught  in  the  Normal  School.  But  we  take  occasion  to  state 
a  fact  here,  which  will  be  rendered  more  apparent  as  we 
proceed,  viz.,  that  the  seeming  failures  in  the  entire  triumph 
of  Normal  Schools  are  more  the  results  of  inadequate  means 
for  organizing  and  conducting  them,  and  from  mistaken 
views  as  to  their  real  design  and  capabilities,  than  from  any 
error  in  that  great  and  fundamental  idea  which  they  repre- 
sent, and  which  underlies  all  human  growth  and  human 
progress — all  mental,  moral,  and  physical  development ;  we 
mean,  that  in  order  to  educate  a  human  being,  lie  must 
work — he  must  grapple  single-handed  and  alone  with  the 
difficulties  in  the  path  of  education.  No  second  person  may 
step  in  to  deprive  him  of  the  needed  labor  any  further  than 
to  aff*ord  him  the  necessary  conditions  of  growth.  It  is  a 
hand-to-hand  fight.  Every  step  of  the  way  is  disputed,  not 
by  foes  of  human  progress,  but  by  toil  and  strife,  whose 


62  AMERICAN   NOKMAL    SCHOOL    CONVENTION. 

sullen  frowns  or  warj.  smiles  excite  the  soul's  energies  to 
combat  and  victory.  The  individual  must  himself  wield  the 
instruments  of  his  education.  In  other  words,  he  must  think 
and  act,  or  teach  as  the  Heaven-appointed,  and,  indeed,  the 
only  means  of  his  own  perfect  and  full-orbed  development 
of  soul,  intellect,  and  body  ;  and,  by  so  doing,  he  affords 
the  conditions  of  growth  and  education,  in  the  greatest 
abundance  and  truest  measure,  to  others  immediately  below 
him.  This  is  what  might  be  called  the  Divine  Harmony  of 
Education.  It  constitutes  at  once  the  cheapest,  safest,  sim- 
plest, and  altogether  the  hest  mode  of  educating  the  race. 
But  this  will  be  rendered  plainer  as  we  proceed. 

To  determine  the  foregoing  questions,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  inquire — 

1.  Into  the  nature  and  scope  of  the  teacher's  duties  and 
responsibilities. 

2.  Into  the  true  office,  capabilities,  and  advantages  of  the 
Normal  School. 

These  two  points  settled,  we  shall  be  prepared  to  judge 
of  the  extent  to  which  Normal  School  instruction  can  be 
carried,  as  \vell  as  of  the  proper  modes  of  conducting  it. 

In  other  words,  we  shall  be  prepared  to  adjust  the  sup- 
plies to  the  w^ant — if  both  have  a  real  existence — and  to  say 
how  far  the  redress  of  those  wants  lies  within  the  compass 
offerees  wielded  by  the  Normal  School  alone.  The  second 
part  of  the  inquiry,  viz.,  How  is  this  best  done,  etc.,  will 
best  be  inferred  from  the  investigation  of  these  two  propo- 
sitions. 

To  understand  the  first,  viz.,  the  nature  and  scope  of  the 
teacher's  duties,  it  will  be  necessary — 

1.  To  understand  the  educational  susceptibility  or  capac- 
ity of  the  subject  to  be  educated. 

2.  To  understand  the  nature  and  design  of  the  educational 


63 

instrumentalities  or  forces  to  be  employed  in  such  edu- 
cation. 

3.  To  understand  and  master  the  educational  modes  or 
processes  of  application  by  which  these  results  are  to  be 
wrought  out. 

The  first  of  these  is  a  matter  of  such  unspeakable  im- 
portance, that  it  may  be  said,  with  safety,  that  no  true  and 
reliable  processes  can  be  adopted  without  it.  It  is  the 
"  sine  qua  non^''  of  the  Teaching  Art.  It  is  a  basis  and  con- 
dition of  all  true  progress  in  the  education  of  the  race.  It 
is  to  the  teacher  and  the  taught,  what  a  knowledge  of  the 
forces  of  i^ature  is  to  the  artist  and  the  agriculturist.  If 
the  mechanic  wishes  to  build  a  house  or  a  ship,  he  measures 
strength  or  force  with  resistance,  durability  witli  exposure, 
and  weight  with  power.  If  the  sculptor  is  to  carve  a  statue, 
he  must  understand  the  nature  and  susceptibility  of  the 
marble.  If  the  farmer  is  to  raise  a  crop,  he  must  under- 
stand  the  character  of  the  soil,  its  adaptability  to  th-e  nour- 
ishment of  the  several  kinds  of  seeds  and  plants.  Even  if 
he  wish  to  dig  a  ditch,  or  build  a  wall,  he  first  ascertains, 
measures,  and  compares  capacity^  force^  and  process ;  for 
herein  consist  the  efficiency  and  success  o^  all  labor  of  what- 
ever kind ;  and  surely  teaching  is  not  an  exception.  It  is, 
rather,  the  strongest  illustration  of  the  rule.  And  the  im- 
portance of  the  thoroughness  and  certainty  of  this  kind  of 
knowledge  rises  just  in  proportion  to  the  magnitude  of  the 
duties. 

But  we  do  not  propose  to  discuss  this  topic  here.  It  were 
sufficient  to  add,  in  the  next  place,  that  if  his  nature  and 
educational  capacity  are  not  understandable^  then  is  man 
not  educahle  ;  since  the  proper  direction  of  his  powers — in 
which  alone  consists  his  education — must  be  the  result  of 
this  pre-understanding  of  them.     To  admit  the  opposite  of 


64  AMERICAN   NORMAL   SCHOOL   C0NVP:NTI0N. 

this  involves  the  grossest  inconsistency,  not  to  say  insult,  to 
the  Creator.  Since  it  not  only  compromises  his  benevo- 
lence and  general  goodness,  but  his  wisdom  also,  in  that  it 
allows  that  the  greatest  interests  that  could  concern  man,  in 
this  world,  have  been  left  to  mere  chance,  or  to  the  less  reli- 
able dictum  of  empiricism.  Therefore  we  infer  that  man  is 
created  with  educational  wants  and  desires,  whose  supply 
and  gratification  are  dependent  upon  antecedent  causes  and 
relations,  and  that  these,  in  their  turn,  have  been  intrusted 
to  him  with  the  most  evident  design  that  he  should  under- 
stand and  apply  them. 

It  has  been  stated  here,  by  high  authority,  that  we  must 
not  expect  to  make  our  practice  equal  our  theory.  If  it  is 
meant  by  this  that  our  practice  may  never  equal  our  theory, 
then  that  theory  or  that  practice  must  be  wrong,  since  there 
is  a  discrepancy  between  the  two.  We  grant  that  theory 
may  precede  practice,  both  as  to  time  and  merit ;  but  if 
theory  does  not  admit  of  equal  practice,  it  involves  an  in- 
consistency at  once.     We  further  conclude — 

1.  That  education  is  a  science  whose  axioms  and  princi- 
ples, whose  facts  and  formulas,  are  susceptible  of  definite 
classification  and  arrangement. 

2.  That  these  can  be  studied  and  mastered  just  as  cer- 
tainly as  the  facts  and  principles  of  other  sciences  can ;  or 
else  our  boasted  craft  has  no  science  for  its  basis ;  since 
these  are  the  very  conditions,  and  the  only  conditions^  upon 
which  a  science  is  founded. 

3.  That  these  principles  can  be  applied  in  the  education 
of  every  human  being  with  no  less  certainty  than  the  prin- 
ciples of  chemistry,  mathematics,  and  philosophy  are  in 
agriculture  and  the  arts  ;  or  else,  again,  there  is  no  art  of 
teaching,  save  that  which  results  from  chance,  since  on  these 
conditions  alone  can  any  art  be  founded. 


65 

This  brings  lis  directly  to  the  answer  of  the  inquiry,  "  To 
what  extent  ?  etc."  We  answer,  therefore,  categorically,  to 
the  full  extent;  and  if  that  is  not  strong  and  definite  enough, 
we  say,  to  the  fullest  possible  extent,  if  the  conditions  are 
right.  But  where  ?  In  the  Normal  School,  of  course  ;  for 
where  else  could  it  be  taught?  Not  in  the  work-shop, 
surely,  or  by  the  way-side,  on  the  farm,  or  in  the  counting- 
room  or  office  ;  though  these  may  develop  gifts  (they  never 
can  create  any)  almost  indispensable  to  the  teaching  talent. 
Nor  yet  is  it  taught  in  the  common  school  or  college  with- 
out separate  and  distinct  appliances  there  ;  for  if,  as  has 
been  shown,  there  is  a  separate  and  w^ell-defined  Science  of 
Education,  w^hose  principles  underlie  all  human  growth  and 
progress,  though  its  perfect  development  may  include  a 
knowledge  of  all  other  sciences,  as  conditional  to  an  under- 
standing of  this,  it  would  be  as  erroneous  a  conclusion  to 
suppose  that  such  science  would  be  developed  by  the  mere 
study  of  all  others,  except  this,  as  that  a  similar,  or  the 
same  course,  would  make  first-rate  lawyers,  doctors,  mer- 
chants, or  mechanics.  As  well  conclude  that  the  study  of 
astronomy  would  make  good  anatomists,  or  that  the  study 
of  grammar  would  develop  the  mathematical  powers. 

There  is  therefore  a  science  of  education  separate  from, 
and  in  a  degree  independent  of,  all  other  sciences.  Its  prin- 
ciples find  their  basis  in  the  laws  of  human  growth  and 
development,  and  they  are  subject  to  our  control.  The  art 
of  teaching  is  engrafted  and  grows  upon  these  principles,  as 
a  means  of  developing  them,  and  of  educating  the  race  ; 
which  art  we  now  proceed  to  notice,  in  reply  to  the  last  in- 
quiry, viz.,  "  How  can  the  Art  of  Teaching  be  best  taught 
in  the  Normal  School  ?" 

1.  It  is  not  best  taught  by  teaching  the  other  sciences 
alone,  or  by  what  is  called  the  Drills  in  the  branches  to  be 


66  AMERICAN   NORMAL    SCHOOL   CONVENTION. 

taught ;  though  this  seems  to  be  one  of  the  necessities  at 
present,  arising  in  part  from  the  backward  state  of  learning 
among  those  who  enter  the  IS^ormal  School. 

2.  It  is  not  best  done  by  attempting  to  grind  out  teachers 
after  a  stereotyped  plan,  dictating  to  them  in  special  modes 
of  giving  instruction  in  this  science  or  that,  however  useful 
this  may  be  in  suggesting  original  plans  ;  this,  in  effect, 
presupposes  either  that  all  minds  apprehend  truth  through 
the  same  channels,  and  consequently  can  communicate  it 
only  through  07ie.  or  else  that  it  becomes  necessary  to  force 
this  result  as  a  condition  of  good  teaching.  It  labors  to 
destroy  the  individual  mind,  and  to  cast  it  after  the  type  of 
some  leading  mind.  It  essentially  interferes  with  the  de- 
velopment of  individual  talent  in  the  teacher,  and  circum- 
scribes the  limits  of  independent  thinking  and  acting. 

Superintendents,  lecturers  at  institutes,  and  Normal 
School  teachers  get  it  in  their  heads  that  there  are  partic- 
ular modes  of  teaching  the  several  branches  which  all  must 
observe,  and  that  this  constitutes  the  great  burden  of  the 
teaching  art ;  and  hence  they  lecture  their  teachers  into 
uniformity  of  mode  in  detail  ;  and  teachers,  again,  in  order 
to  make  progress — as  they  suppose — must  cast  off  them- 
selves, and  put  on  the  superintendent.  They  must  lay  aside 
their  own  armor,  in  which  alone  they  can  do  any  effective 
service,  and  they  must  needs  clothe  themselves  in  the  un- 
natural habiliments  of  their  ideal  teacher. 

Teaching  becomes  powerless  just  in  the  same  ratio  that 
it  is  reflected  ;  and  powerful,  in  the  same  ratio  that  it  is 
original  and  ria^ht. 

All  true  teaching  is  as  different  from  this  second-hand 
article  as  the  sun  is  from  his  own  rays ;  and  the  attempt  to 
embody  the  mere  experience  or  special  modes  of  teaching 
the  several  branches  of  science  into  a  system,  and  to  call  it 


c 


67 


Science^  and  to  teach  it  as  such,  is  not  unlike  an  attempt 
to  battle  the  sun's  rays  and  to  retain  and  use  them  in 
his  absence.  Bare  experience  or  opinion  is  not  science, 
and  no  part  whatsoever  thereof;  and  to  teach  it  as  such,  or 
to  rely  upon  it  as  sufficiently  accurate  for  the  purpose  of 
the  Normal  School,  is  in  effect  to  bring  the  whole  subject 
of  the  true  Science  of  Education,  and  with  it  the  Normal 
School,  into  disrepute.  These  things,  fellow-teachers,  are 
the  real  hindrances  to  our  beloved  profession,  and  the  sci- 
ence we  would  establish. 

Now,  the  teacher,  to  be  successful,  must  enter  the  field  of 
conflict  equipped  in  his  own  mail,  not  in  false  armor.  He 
must  shine  with  his  own,  not  with  a  reflected  light.  He 
must  warm  and  invigorate  with  his  own,  not  with  a  bor- 
rowed heat.  He  must  teach  his  own  thoughts,  not  an- 
other's. He  must  bring  them  forth  all  radiant  with  his  own 
native  intelligence.  He  must  coin  them  in  tlie  mint  of  his  own 
mind.  He  must  stamp  his  own  impress  upon  them.  "  Where 
shall  he  get  them  ?"  He  must  manufacture  them  from  ma- 
terial furnished  to  his  hand,  from  the  ten  thousand  sources 
open  to  his  access.  The  ore,  indeed,  may  be  brought  from 
a  distant  mine,  but  the  coinage  mrust  be  a  process  purely 
domestic.  And  not  only  so,  but  it  must  be  pointed  and 
pinioned  so  that  it  shall  wing  its  flight  to  the  sanctuary  of 
the  mind,  making  the  dark  places  light  and  the  rough 
smooth.  It  only  remains  now  to  speak  of  the  best  methods, 
etc.,  having  first  glanced  at  and  contrasted  some  of  the 
poorest. 

In  accordance  with  the  view  advanced  in  the  beginning, 
viz.,  to  educate  a  man,  he  must  work,  since  this  is  the 
Heaven-appointed  means  of  developing  his  powers  ;  so,  in 
order  to  make  teachers,  they  must  teach  or  practice  the  art, 
just  as  in  any  other  trade  or  profession.     In  order  to  make 


68  AMERICAN   NORMAL   SCHOOL   CONVENTION. 

a  good  accountant,  he  must  use  the  journal  and  ledger.  In 
order  to  make  a  good  mechanic,  he  must  take  hold  of  the 
tools  and  use  them.  In  order  to  make  a  good  lawyer,  he 
must  plead  law;  or.  a  doctor,  he  must  practice  medicine; 
a  preacher,  he  must  preach  ;  a  proficient  in  any  art,  he 
must  practice  that  art.  Well,  then,  how  is  the  teacher 
made  ?  How  does  he  come  to  his  profession  ?  "  Doctor, 
nascitur  nonfit^''  is  not  j^^  to  be  incorporated  in  the  teach- 
er's vocabulary,  however  appropriate  it  might  be  when 
read,  '•^  Poeta  nascitur^''^  etc. 

There  is  no  other  way,  then,  than  by  teaching,  for  in  this 
way  alone  can  his  talent  be  developed.  But  must  he  teach 
or  educate  before  he  study  the  Science  of  Education  ?  ISTo,  no 
more  than  that  the  lawyer  should  plead  law  before  he  under- 
stand it ;  or  that  the  doctor  should  practice  medicine  before 
he  understand  human  anatomy,  or  the  laws  of  life  and 
health,  and  the  use  of  remedies. 

Now  the  cases  are  precisely  analogous,  and  until  the  force 
of  the  comparison  is  admitted  in  our  practice,  as  well  as  in 
our  theory,  our  profession,  and  our  science,  and  with  them 
our  Normal  Schools,  will  most  likely  remain  where  they 
now  are.  • 

But  when  and  where  shall  the  teacher  teach,  in  order  to 
fit  himself  for  the  duties  of  the  school-room  ?  We  answer, 
while  he  is  studying  this  science;  for  its  principles  are  best 
evolved  when  they  can  be  shown  in  a  course  of  practice  ; ' 
and  in  the  Normal  School,  since  this  furnishes  the  advan- 
tages in  greater  abundance  than  other  schools.  The  science 
and  the  art  go  hand  in  hand. 

To  render  the  whole  matter  as  brief  and  comprehensible 
as  possible,  these  things  may  be  summed  up  thus : 

I.  There  should  be  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  ordinary 
branches  of  study,  to  which  may  be  added  as  many  extra 


69 

arid  ornamental  branches  as  circumstances  will  allow.  It 
would  be  well  if  all  these  could  be  obtained  in  the  common 
school  and  the  college,  though  their  acquisition  is  not  an- 
tagonistic to  the  exercises  of  the  Normal  School. 

II.  To  accommodate  the  backward  state  of  knowledge 
and  scientific  attainments,  there  should  be  a  thorough  class- 
drill  in  the  branches  to  be  taught,  for  the  double  purpose 
of  acquiring  greater  thoroughness,  and  of  exhibiting  the 
best  modes  of  teaching.  This  exercise  should  be  regarded 
as  the  means  rather  than  the  end  to  be  attained. 

III.  There  should  be  a  thorough  and  systematic  study  of 
the  Science  of  Education,  which  should  embrace — 

1.  A  thorough  and  critical  knowledge  of  man's  educa- 
tional capacity  or  susceptibility,  physical,  intellectual,  and 
moral,  through  all  the  several  stages  of  his  growth,  from  in- 
fancy to  maturity.  2.  A  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the 
nature,  value,  and  appropriateness  of  the  educational  forces 
or  instrumentalities  best  adapted  to  reach  man's  educational 
capacity,  and  to  redress  his  wants  in  each  period  of  his  life, 
and  for  each  department  of  his  nature.  3.  A  familiar  ac- 
quaintance with  the  educational  processes  or  modes  of 
applying  the  educational  supply  to  the  educational  want, 
throughout  the  several  periods  of  man's  growth,  and  for  his 
physical,  intellectual,  and  moral  nature. 

This  disposition  of  matters  presupposes  the  existence  of 
an  educational  system  that  shall  fit  man  like  a  garment,  an- 
ticipating and  providing  for  every  educational  want,  as 
manifested  in  his  constitution  and  life.  And  that  such  a 
system  can  be  devised  is  only  in  keeping  with  the  great 
designs  of  the  Creator,  who  placed  man  in  such  a  relation 
as  to  demand  the  development  of  all  his  powers  ;  and  surely 
his  powers  can  not  properly  be  developed  without  such  a 
system.     The  conclusion,  therefore,  is,  God  either  does  not 


70  AMERICAN   NOKMAL   SCHOOL    CONVENTION. 

demand  of  him  such  a  development,  or  else  such  a  system 
is  possible,  for  God  never  has  demanded  an  impossibility, 
nor  even  an  unnecessary  thing.  It  is  therefore  both  possi- 
ble and  necessary. 

This  topic  also  looks  to  the  thorough  investigation  and 
understanding  of  the  school-room  duties,  in  the  order  of 
their  relative  importance.  Such  discussion  should  not  be 
confined  to  one  or  two  of  these  duties,  as,  for  example,  to 
recitation,  which,  important  as  it  is,  ranks  no  higher,  and 
indeed  not  so  high,  as  an  educational  instrumentality,  as 
study  and  some  others.  But  it  should  embrace  everything 
that  pertains  to  School  Organization  :  Preliminaries,  Study, 
Recitation,  Business,  Recreation,  Government,  and  all  of 
these  in  their  most  extensive  application,  studying  the  prin- 
ciples that  obtain  in  them,  and  disposing  of  them  in  such  a 
way  that  they  may  be  applied  by  the  individual  teacher  to 
the  specific  cases. 

There  is  a  limited  number  of  principles  involved  in  these 
duties,  and  hence  they  can  be  arranged  as  proper  objects  of 
study  ;  but  their  application  is  infinite,  forbidding  even  the 
possibility  as  well  as  the  practicability  of  the  study  and 
practice  of  individual  modes.  This  should  forever  put  an 
end  to  this  eternal  rage  after  pet  plans. 

lY.  The  last  and  crowning  exercise,  in  training  teachers, 
should  consist  in  their  giving  instruction,  and  conducting 
all  the  exercises,  and  performing  all  the  duties  of  the  school- 
room. This  should,  however,  be  variously  interspersed 
throughout  the  greater  part  of  the  professional  course  ;  for, 
just  as  soon  as  a  pupil  learns  a  thing,  he  should  tell  it  or 
teach  it ;  he  should  learn  to  use  it,  not  only  as  a  means  of 
retaining  it  and  of  strengthening  and  developing  his  own 
powers,  but  as  the  Heaven-appointed  means  of  perpetuating 
knowledge  and  of  educating  those  lower  down  in  the  scale 


n 

of  knowledge.  The  model  school  thus  becomes  an  indis- 
pensable appendage  to  the  ISTormal  School ;  and  it  is  rightly 
termed  a  model  school,  since  no  other  form  of  school  ap- 
proximates so  nearly  the  great  idea  of  a  perfect  educational 
process.  It  constitutes  a  mutual  exchange,  an  easy  com- 
merce, a  happy  and  consistent  blending  of  study  and  teach- 
ing, of  acquisition  and  use,  an  interchangeable  relation  of 
want  and  supply. 

It  never  was  intended  that  the  education  of  the  young 
should  be  a  burden,  either  as  to  expense  or  labor,  much  less 
a  drudgery.  The  Normal  pupil  needs  the  exercise  of  giv- 
ing instruction  and  teaching,  while  the  model  pupil  needs 
the  instruction.  Here  we  see  the  economy  and  simplicity 
of  all  true  modes  of  educating.  It  is  only  following  na- 
ture's dictates,  and  giving  free  scope  to  man's  activities. 

To  suppose  that  the  education  of  the  rising  generations 
requires  the  sacrifice  of  life,  health,  or  the  pleasures  arising 
from  these,  is  an  admission  too  monstrous  for  belief.  What, 
kill  the  body  to  make  the  mind  alive  ?  Will  the  blood  of 
teachers  enrich  the  soil  of  intelligence  ?  Must  the  road  to 
learning  be  paved  with  the  bones  of  departing  and  departed 
teachers?  We  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  such  doctrine  ;  and 
to  think  of  the  unborn  toil  and  suffering  of  the  races  yet  to 
come,  is  enough  to  sicken  even  the  teacher's  heart. 

But,  friends,  look  up  !  A  brighter  day  dawns  !  Educa- 
tion is  life,  not  death ;  it  is  health,  not  sickness  ;  it  is  strength, 
not  weakness  ;  it  is  liberty,  not  ret^traint ;  it  is  glorious 
action,  busy  thought,  and  exercise  to  all  man's  legitimate 
powers.  It  makes  a  man  stronger  physically,  intellectually, 
morally.  It  makes  him  live  longer.  It  makes  him  wiser, 
better,  happier  ;  for  it  develops,  strengthens,  intensifies, 
chastens,  refines,  and  sublimates  all  his  powers,  and  lifts 
him  into  a  higher  sphere  of  enjoyment ;  and,  thank  Heaven, 


72  AMERICAN   NORMAL   SCHOOL   CONVENTION. 

our  Bystem  is  approximating  this  glorious  ideal  of  per- 
fection. 

It  is  no  vain  prophecy,  for  see  :  for  two  hundred  years,  and 
for  the  last  twenty-five  years  in  particular,  we  have  been  strug- 
gling up  to  the  light  in  the  great  matter  of  educating  boys 
and  girls.  We  have  systematized,  we  have  aggregated,  we 
have  classified,  so  that  the  fewest  teachers  could  take  charge 
of  the  greatest  number  of  scholars.  This  was  an  important' 
move  in  the  right  direction — a  grand,  a  glorious,  a  neces- 
sary move.  In  this  way  the  great  Common-School  System 
of  the  nineteenth  century  has  thrown  its  £egis  of  protection 
around  all  the  children  of  our  land.  It  has  brought  into 
line  this  untamed  force,  and  conducted  it  safe  through  the 
first  stages  of  education.  But  must  we  stop  here  ?  Are 
there  no  other  stages  or  advances  ?  Must  we  needs  stop 
within  sight  of  the  goal  ? 

To  one  accustomed  to  take  philosophical  views  of  the 
workings  of  our  present  system,  its  excesses  must  be  ap- 
parent. It  is  excessive  system,  excessive  classification, 
excessive  teaching.  These  may  appear  like  strange  words 
to  employ  here ;  but  it  needs  but  the  careful  eye  of  obser- 
vation to  see  that  this  excessive  System  and  classification 
only  educates  children  in  masses — often  at  the  expense  of 
individual  talent  and  development.  We  educate  the  gen- 
eral boy,  and  the  general  girl,  not  the  beautiful,  symmet- 
rical individual ;  though  these  result  sometimes,  in  spite  of 
our  education.  But  this  only  shows  how  educable  the 
race  is. 

Many  of  our  public  schools  and  colleges — the  Union 
Schools  in  large  cities  in  particular,  where  the  system  has 
fully  developed  itself — resemble  planing-machines.  Every 
pupil  must  pass  through  the  same  orifice — must  have  just 
so  much  trimmed  off  here,  and  so  much  added  there.     He 


73 

must  pass  through  the  same  course,  in  precisely  the  same 
time  and  manner,  with  very  few  variations.  The  scholar  is 
bent  to  the  course,  and  not  the  course  to  the  scholar.  The 
dose  is  prepared,  and  he  must  swallow  it,  "  nolens  volens/'' 

Now  perhaps  this  is  the  best  thing  that  could  be  done, 
under  the  circumstances,  where  each  teacher  is  compelled 
to  teach  from  fifty  to  seventy-five  and  one  hundred  scholars 
day  after  day,  with  scarcely  a  varilation.  But  when  the 
true  idea  of  education  shall  be  realized — to  which  we  are 
fast  approaching — every  fifty  scholars  and  every  school- 
room will  have  half  a  score  of  teachers — pupil  teachers, 
exchanging  their  knowledge  for  practice — giving,  but  re- 
ceiving ten-fold  in  return. 

The  model  school — not  the  monitorial  school,  strictly — 
has  inaugurated  this  improvement,  and  our  teachers  are  fast 
availing  themselves  of  its  advantages.  When  it  shall  have 
been  fully  established,  labor  will  be  more  equally  divided 
between  teachers  that  may  be  dying  from  excess  of  it,  and 
the  pupils  for  the  want  of  it.  "When  that  day  shall  have 
been  fully  ushered  in,  the  last  page  in  the  history  of  the 
Normal  School,  as  a  separate  institution,  will  have  heen 
written  J  for  every  school  will  be  a  Normal  School,  and 
every  teacher  a  model  teacher,  and  every  pupil  a  model 
pupil.  Heaven  speed  the  day  !  Until  its  dawn,  and  for 
its  dawn,  let  us  labor  and  wait. 

The  essay  of  Richard  Edwards,  Esq.,  in  his  absence,  was  read 
by  Dr.  Sumner  C.  WtBB.     The  subject  was — 

"  On  the  Course  of  Study  best  Suited  to  the  Objects  of  American 
Normal  Schools" 

MR.     EDWARDS'    PAPER. 

In  this  discussion  it  is  quite  clear  that  the  first  thing  to 
be  done  is  to  settle  with  some  degree  of  definiteness  what 
the  objects  of  American  Normal  Schools  are.      For  what 

4 


74:  AMERICAN   NORMAL   SCHOOL   CONVENTION. 

purposes  were  they  established,  and  what  ends  do  their 
friends  hope  to  accomplish  by  means  of  them.  I  believe 
that  most  of  the  statutes  establishing  such  schools  set  it 
forth  as  their  end  "  to  qualify  teachers  for  the  common 
schools."  So  that  the  objects  to  be  accomplished  by  the 
Normal  School  depend  upon  what  it  is  intended  or  desired 
that  the  common  schools  shall  be.  That  must  be  put  into 
\)ciQ,  former  which  we  would  see  reproduced  in  the  latter. 

And  the  object  to  be  accomplished  in  the  common  school, 
as  we  have  heard  it  stated  a  hundred  times,  is  the  develop- 
ment of  all  that  is  good,  noble,  and  great  in  every  child 
subjected  to  their  influence  ;  the  building  up  in  each  one 
of  a  symmetrical  manhood  or  womanhood.  And  this  end, ' 
we  are  told,  is  to  be  attained  in  respect  to  the  three-fold 
nature  of  the  child — the  physical,  the  intellectual,  and  the 
moral.  And  the  development  is  also  to  be  "  harmonious," 
not  only  in  respect  to  these  three  grand  divisions  of  the 
being,  but  also  in  respect  to  the  component  parts  of  each. 
That  wliich  is  noblest  is  to  be  made  the  ruling  principle  : 
the  reason  is  to  control  the  propensities  and  the  movements 
of  the  physical  frame,  and  is  itself  to  be  subject  to  the  con- 
science, which,  in  the  normally  developed  man,  is  the  su- 
preme dictator  among  the  human  powers. 

For  the  attaining  of  this  result,  instrumentalities  are  em- 
ployed, consisting  of  certain  branches  of  knowledge,  certain 
bodily  exercises,  and  the  application  of  certain  truths  in 
morals.  All  these  are  needed  as  instruments  in  the  educa- 
tion of  children  in  the  common  school. 

Now  the  Normal  School  should  teach  its  pupils,  who  in- 
tend to  undertake  the  work  of  the  common  school,  the 
nature  and  use  of  these  instrumentalities,  the  latter  as  its 
main  function,  and  the  former  so  far  as  is  necessary. 

It  should,  if  need  be,  teach. him  what  his  tools  are,  and  it 


Y5 

should  certainly  teach  him  how  to  use  them.  Here,  then, 
we  have  something  to  guide  us  in  determining  the  course 
of  study  that  should  be  adopted  in  the  Normal  School.  It* 
the  student  lacks  a  proper  knowledge  of  the  studies  he  is  to 
teach,  if  he  does  not  in  the  most  thorough  manner  un- 
derstand them,  then  the  first  business  to  attend  to  in  the 
Kormal  School  is  to  acquire  such  thorough  understanding ; 
he  must  become  familiar  with  the  implements  he  is  after- 
ward to  use. 

The  next  and  the  main  point  in  such  a  school  is  to  learn 
how  to  use  these  implements,  how  to  make  every  study 
effective  in  the  development  of  some  power  in  every  child. 
And  if,  as  appears  to  be  always  the  case,  the  ability  to  do 
this,  in  respect  to  any  one  subject,  implies  an  acquaintance 
with  other  kindred  subjects ;  if,  in  order  to  teach  arith- 
metic well  and  philosophically,  the  teacher  must  have  some 
accurate  knowledge  of  algebra ;  if  geography  can  be  prop- 
erly taught  only  by  him  who  knows  something  of  astronomy  ; 
if  to  give  useful  instruction  in  the  English  language,  one 
must  know  some  language  besides,  then  of  course  the  incip- 
ient teacher  must  be  furnished  with  this  additional  culture 
as  a  part  of  his  preparation.       . 

Properly,  much  of  this  work  belongs  elsewhere,  and 
should  be  performed  before  the  pupil  reaches  the  ]S"ormal 
School.  Theoretically,  only  the  science  and  the  art  of 
teacliing  should  engage  the  attention  of  students  in  sucli  a 
school. 

It  is  a  professional  institution,  and  should  properly  be 
held  responsible  only  for  professional  work.  The  law  school 
is  not  called  in  question  for  neglecting  to  teach  the  Latin 
Prosody,  nor  ought  the  Normal  School  to  be  required  to 
give  instruction  in  geography  and  English  grammar.  But 
our  theme  relates  to  American  Normal  Schools,  and   we 


76  AMERICAN   NORMAL   SCHOOL   CONVENTION. 

have  therefore  to  do,  not  so  much  with  this  abstract  idea, 
as  with  the  kind  of  institution  adapted  to  the  wants  of  our 
community.  And  let  us  remember  that  institutions  are  not 
to  be  maintained  as  ends,  but  only  as  means ;  that  the  ques- 
tion is  not  how  to  build  up  Normal  Schools,  but  how  to 
make  them  subserve  the  public  wants ;  and,  indeed,  that 
every  institution  should  be  so  adjusted  to  these  wants  as  to 
aid  in  the  improvement  of  the  race,  and  in  the  increase  of 
human  happiness ;  and  that  if  any  institution  fails  to  do 
this,  and  becomes  only  an  artificial,  theoretical  thing,  di- 
vorced from  the  interests  and  sympathies  of  the  community 
in  which  it  is  established,  then  it  is  a  shell  without  the  ker- 
nel, a  form  without  the  substance  ;  a  petrifaction  merely, 
from  which  the  living  soul,  if  there  ever  was  one,  has  de- 
parted. 

'No  one  of  course  will  understand  this  as  meaning  that  a 
school  should  never  go  beyond  the  public  sentiment  in  its 
requisitions  and  scholarship.  In  re-pect  to  scholarship  and 
many  other  things,  it  is  one  of  the  functions  of  every  school, 
of  whatever  grade,  to  lead  and  hring  ujp  public  sentiment. 
It  should  not  be  merely  an  index  of  what  this  sentiment  is^ 
and  how  far  it  has  advanced^  but  a  beacon  set  upon  a  hill, 
yet  not  so  high  but  that  its  rays  may  illumine  the  regions 
of  every-day  life. 

While  therefore  the  Normal  School  ought  to  have  for 
its  chief  purpose  the  giving  of  instruction  in  the  art  of 
teaching,  it  should  by  no  means  neglect  to  supply  any  de- 
fect in  the  qualification  of  any  of  its  pupils  for  the  practi- 
cal work  of  teaching.  We  may,  however,  reasonably  hope 
that  as  the  years  roll  on,  the  need  of  such  deviation  from  a 
strictly  professional  course  may  diminish,  and  that  these 
seminaries  for  teachers  may  be  able  to  confine  themselves 
more  to  their  strictly  legitimate  function. 


77 

In  view  of  what  was  stated  at  the  outset,  we  see  that  the 
study  in  a  Normal  School  should  be  such  as  to  fit  its  grad- 
uates for  the  proper  education  of  their  own  pupils  phys- 
ically, intellectually,  and  morally.  This  will  include  the 
knowledge  of  principles  and  methods  of  training  and  gov- 
erning, and  in  respect  to  many  things  the  knowledge  of 
the  branches  of  study  to  be  taught.  Perhaps  the  follow- 
ing schedule  may  embrace  most  of  the  subjects  that  should 
be  included  in  such  a  course  : 

Human  Anatomy  and  Physiology,  especially  the  latter, 
and  the  laws  of  health,  including  rules  in  respect  to  diet, 
exercise,  ventilation,  dress,  etc.  Gymnastic  and  Orthosomic 
exercises,  having  for  their  object  the  development  of  mus- 
cular power  and  vigor,  grace  of  movement,  and  physical 
health  generally. 

A  careful  and  critical  Keview  (for  the  purpose  of  illus- 
trating methods)  of  some  at  least  of  the  studies  which  the 
pupil  is  afterward  to  teach,  and,  as  has  already  been  sug- 
gested, a  supplying  of  any  defect  in  necessary  knowledge 
exhibited  by  the  student. 

The  Science  and  Art  of  Teaching,  including  or  presup- 
posing Mental  and  Moral  Philosophy,  and  including,  also. 
Practice  in  Teaching. 

A  critical  and  careful  study  of  the  English  language  and 
some  of  its  best  literature,  with  Practice  in  Composition  ; 
also  including  Elocution  and  Phonetic  Analysis. 

Let  us  briefly  consider,  in  order,  each  of  the  topics  men- 
tioned. 

Of  the  first,  Human  Physiology  and  the  laws  of  health, 
little  need  be  said.  It  constitutes  the  theoretic  element  in 
physical  education,  and  is  a  prominent  subject  of  study  in 
every  Kormal  School  with  which  I  am  acquainted,  and  thus 
far,  certainly,  all  is  as  it  should  be.     There  is  an  eminent 


Y8  AMERICAN   NORMAL   SCHOOL    CONVENTION. 

propriety  in  giving  teachers  as  good  an  idea  of  the  human 
frame,  and  the  functions  of  its  organs,  as  their  circum- 
stances will  permit  them  to  acquire  ;  the  omission  of  this  in 
a  Normal  School  would  go  far  toward  making  it  unworthy 
of  its  name.  But  is  there  any  excuse  for  the  very  common 
neglect  of  the  second  of  our  topics  ?  We  are  constantly 
saying  that  education  consists,  not  in  the  pouring  of  facts 
and  principles  into  the  mind,  but  in  an  actual  exercise  of 
the  powers  to  be  educated — in  actually  putting  forth  vigor- 
ously, but  prudently,  the  strength  they  possess,  in  order  that 
they  may  acquire  more.  And  yet  it  is  scarcely  true  that  in 
our  Normal  Schools,  taken  generally,  physical  training  has 
assumed  its  place  as  a  regular  and  required  daily  exercise, 
scientifically  conducted.  I  know  that  young  men  are  ex- 
horted to  saw  wood,  and  young  ladies  to  take  walks,  and 
that  some  schools  even  possess  a  more  or  less  extended  set 
of  gymnastic  apparatus.  But  how  many  are  furnished  with 
an  instructor  especially  fitted  to  give  the  necessary  direc- 
tions, who  insists  on  the  daily  performance  of  the  work 
assigned  ?  The  matter  is  usually  left  to  the  tastes  and  in- 
clinations of  the  pupils,  and,  as  a  consequence,  is  engaged 
in  with  a  degree  of  indiflference  and  irregularity,  or  omitted 
altogether. 

What  would  be  thought  of  the  plan  of  throwing  a  few 
books  on  mathematics  in  the  way  of  students,  and  then  ex- 
pecting them  to  become  thorough  proficients  in  geometry 
and  the  calculus  ?  Does  it  not  seem  the  strangest  thing  of 
all  that  we  should  be  guilty  of  such  absurd  inconsistency  in 
that  department  in  which  it  becomes,  from  the  nature  of 
things,  the  most  obvious  and  glaring  ? 

How  much  strength  of  muscle  and  tone  of  nerve  is  ac- 
quired by  sitting  up  half  a  night  in  preparing  a  long  and 
difficult  lesson  on  the  structure  and  hygienic  laws  of  exten- 


79 

SOTS  SLudJlexors  and  the  philosophy  of  common  and  special 
sensation  ?  Of  all  departments  of  school  instruction,  this  is 
the  most  unfortunate,  for  the  permitting  of  such  a  disparity 
between  theory  and  practice,  and,  strictly  speaking,  the 
learning  of  lessons  in  physiology,  is  not  physical  education  ; 
it  is  a  species  of  intellectual  culture — faculties  of  mind,  and 
not  organs  of  body,  are  trained  by  it ;  it  may  strengthen 
the  memory  and  the  reason,  but  it  does  not  enlarge  the  mus- 
cles nor  improve  the  digestion. 

It  is  a  source  of  much  gratification  to  notice  that  in  many 
schools  measures  are  being  taken  for  securing  the  proper 
training  in  this  respect;  a  difference  should  be  made  be- 
tween the  exercises  intended  for  boys  and  those  intended 
for  girls.  By  some  instructors,  in  this  department,  they  are 
distinguished  by  the  name  of  Gymnastics  for  the  former  and 
Orthosomics  for  the  latter.  Gymnastic  exercises  are  more 
vigorous  and  violent,  and  require  more  strength  and  endur- 
ance of  muscle  than  the  other  species ;  and  although  both 
tend  to  produce  grace  of  movement  when  directed  by  a  per- 
son whose  own  motions  are  graceful,  yet  the  latter  have  this 
more  prominently  as  an  object. 

To  give  a  detailed  account  of  the  method  of  conducting 
such  exercises,  and  of  the  apparatus  required,  would  be 
altogether  beside  our  present  discussion,  and  would  swell 
this  paper  to  an  unreasonable  length,  and  we  therefore  pass 
on  to  the  third  topic,  simply  adding  that  these  exercises 
are  of  such  a  character  that  they  could  easily  be  introduced 
into  any  public  school  in  the  country  without  at  all  impair- 
ing its  efficiency  in  other  directions,  and  that  the  cost  of  the 
apparatus  absolutely  required  would  scarcely  be  felt  as  a 
burden  anywhere.  We  believe  that  the  common-school 
teacher  should  be  as  regularly  prepared  to  conduct  this 
branch  of  education  as  to  give  instruction  in  arithmetic  or 


80  AMEBICAJSr   NORMAL   SCHOOL   CONVENTION. 

orthography  ;  and  hence  the  necessity  of  introducing  it  into 
the  E'ormal  School. 

In  regard  to  the  third  division  upon  our  schedule,  it  does 
not  seem  necessary  to  speak  at  much  length.  It  will  no 
doubt  be  conceded  by  all,  that  a  review  of  some  of  the 
studies  in  which  the  student  is  expected  to  give  instruction 
is  quite  necessary  in  order  to  give  distinctness  to  the  sug- 
gestions made  in  the  Kormal  School  concerning  methods  of 
teaching. 

Further  than  this,  the  work  of  the  I^^ormal  Schools,  under 
this  head,  will  consist  simply  in  supplying  defects  in  the  stu- 
dent's culture,  which,  theoretically  considered,  ought  to 
have  been  done  by  other  institutions. 

I  know  that  this  occupies  almost  the  entire  attention  of 
many  teachers'  seminaries,  and  I  believe  that  even  if  it 
were  the  only  thing  attempted  by  them — if  the  special  study 
of  the  science  and  art  of  teaching  were  entirely  omitted — 
that  even  then  they  would  be  far  from  being  mere  acade- 
mies or  high  schools.  For  to  say  nothing  of  the  silent, 
reciprocal  influence  generated  among  a  company  of  young 
people,  assembled  to  prepare  themselves  for  teachers  ;  to 
say  nothing  of  the  spirit  of  professional  enthusiasm  awak- 
ened under  such  circumstances,  there  is  such  a  thing  as 
studying  a  subject  with  special  reference  to  teaching  it; 
and  of  so  teaching  it  as  to  illustrate  sound  principles  and 
superior  methods  of  instruction;  but  after  all,  it  seems  to 
me,  we  shall  be  gainers  by  making  these  institutions  more 
and  more  professional — by  making  the  theory  and  art  of 
teaching  the  chief  subject  of  attention  in  them,  and  by 
requiring  that  every  applicant  for  admission  shall  have  such 
an  acquaintance  with  the  studies  that  he  will  be  called  upon 
to  teach,  as  will  render  it  unnecessary  for  the  Normal 
Schools  to  do  aught  with  these  studies  except  for  illustra- 


81 

tion.  Let  these  schools  concentrate  their  strength  upon 
one  thing  ;  let  them  endeavor  to  teach  one  subject  with 
its  collaterals,  thoroughly  and  philosophically,  and  they 
will  be  much  more  likely  to  succeed — to  achieve  positive 
and  useful  results  for  the  cause  of  education,  than  if  we 
attempt  to  make  them  serve  the  purposes  of  a  professional 
school,  a  high  school,  or  a  college.  Experience  bears  out 
this  statement :  seminaries  for  teachers  there  have  been  in 
which  algebra  and  physics  were  thoroughly  taught,  but  in 
which  little  or  nothing  was  ever  done  for  the  science  of 
education,  and  only  something  by  way  of  illustration  for 
the  art. 

I  have  never  known  the  attempt  to  attach  to  the  IS'ormal 
School  an  extended  course  of  high  classical  and  mathemat- 
ical study — to  meet  with  anything  that  ought  for  a  moment 
to  be  called  success,  without  destroying  the  professional 
character  of  the  school. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  in  the  case  of  many  schools  it 
would  be  difficult,  and  perhaps  not  expedient,  to  exclude 
from  the  curriculum  all  that  is  not  professional,  directly  or 
indirectly.  At  present  this  condition  of  things  can  be  most 
nearly  approached  in  those  cities  which  support  both  a 
High  and  a  E^ormal  School,  and  where  the  latter  institution 
derives  its  pupils  mainly  or  entirely  from  the  former. 

Such  a  relation  enables  the  Normal  School  to  confine  it- 
self to  its  appropriate  province,  and  furnishes  it  with  pupils 
properly  prepared  to  enter  upon  professional  work. 

When  it  is  considered  desirable  to  extend  the  work  of  the 
Normal  School  so  that  it  shall  prepare  teachers  not  only 
professionally,  but  otherwise,  the  curriculum  of  study  will 
of  course  depend  upon  what  the  student  is  preparing  for, 
as  well  as  upon  what  he  has  done  before  entering  the  school. 

If  it  be  attempted  to  prepare  fully  for  high  schools,  and 

4* 


WB  AXEBICAS  HOKMAL   SCHOOL   CONTE^fTION. 

similar  institations,  I  see  not  how  to  avoid  the  ordinary  four 
years'  college  course,  with  all  that  is  necessary  as  a  prep- 
aration, and  the  professional  coarse  besides.  Taking  the 
papils  from  the  very  best  of  our  grammar  schools,  the 
work  here  indicated  would  require  at  least  eight  years  of 
time.  Can  a  single  institution  accomplish  all  this  labor  as 
advantageously  as  several  of  different  grades  ?  I  have  taken 
no  pains  to  mark  out  a  course  of  study  covering  this  extent 
of  ground,  because  the  work  would,  in  the  main,  coincide 
with  that  of  existing  institutions,  and  could  be  easily  ar- 
ranged by  consulting  their  catalogues. 

We  come  next  to  the  consideration  of  that  which  is 
usually  spoken  of  as  the  theory  and  art  of  teaching — a 
term  which  in  this  paper  includes  the  whole  science  of 
education,  excepting  only  physical  culture.  Like  all  new 
attempts,  this  subject  has  hitherto  presented  many  diffi- 
culties, and  will  undoubtedly  present  many  more. 

The  science  of  education  is  only  in  its  formative  state. 
Its  principles  have  never  been  arranged  and  digested  with 
the  care  and  precision  we  find  in  some  departments  of 
knowledge  hitherto  more  devotedly  cultivated. 

Not  but  that  it  would  be  quite  possible,  and  compara- 
tively easy,  to  frame  a  theory  of  education  that  should  be 
more  or  less  complete  in  all  its  parts,  and  measurably  satis- 
factory to  ourselves,  perhaps  ;  but  this  is  not  the  method  of 
building  up  sciences  that  has  been  most  highly  valued 
since  the  time  of  Lord  Bacon  ;  and  nowhere  ouirht  our  theo- 
ries to  be  founded  upon  a  more  careful  induction  than  in 
this  matter  of  education. 

Every  principle,  before  it  is  deemed  trustworthy,  should 
be  subjected  to  a  rigorous  process  of  verification,  and  the 
system  finally  adopted  should  be  the  result  deduced  from 
the  experience  of  many,  continued  through  many  years.    It 


^^ns.  SS 

slioiild  be  a  gntdoal  giowtii,  die  frut  <tf  a  Tsmd  aoad  pa- 
tient labor,  carried  on  in  tbe  Ii«^t  oi  day  and  before  aieB^ 
ejes,  and  not  a  tbing  tbat,  like  tbe  ptopbel^  S'owd,  grows 
up  in  a  nigbt. 

In  view  of  tbese  &cts,  it  is  witb  ooB»deiable  diSdeaee 
tbat  one  approaches  die  d^aib  of  Ibis  sabject,  and  in  die 
present  pi^er  nodung  irill  be  auenpfed  bejond  die  iadiea> 
tkm  of  a  conise  wbidi  appeals  to  bave  been  in  some  cases  tol> 
efablr  snec^stfnL    It  may  be  ptesenled  aoeae^rfiat  js  folWy»s : 

Ibe  Sd«ioe  of  Edacadon,  based  apon  die  PbilosopbT  of 
die  Jiimd^  bodi  j«c«nb  and  mimU,  aad  abo  apott  d^ 
Science  of  Moiak. 

Tbe  Art  of  Teacbin^  indading  oMtbods,  and  die  piae- 
tical  application  of  die  principles  of  die  science  already 
aUaded  to.  Ibis  undades  moral  as  w^  as  iatdlectaal  cal^ 
tare,  and  aims  to  fuaisb  aaswots  to  sacb  qaesdoiis  as^  How 
sball  I  devdop  die  power  of  obscrration  in  my  papikt 
How  can  I  make  d9Ska«it  diinkers  aad  reasMieis  of  diemi 
How  can  die  princi|^es  of  integrily,  of  bonor,  eoaseieii- 
tioosness,  of  Hndness,  of  rsTerence  Ifor  God,  ele^  be 
strengdiaied  in  diemI  and  afeo  to  tbese :  How  can  I  best 
teach  Aridimetic,  Geographr,  Readings  etc  ! 

A  considefation  of  die  kind  of  pei^on  diat  the  teacbei 
ought  to  be,  the  character  be  oaght  to  exhibit,  or  the  qaak 
ides  be  ought  to  possess — as  an  inqniry  that  mast  precede 
tlie  consiclwation  of— 

The  Art  of  GoTeming  a  School,  inciwoiii^  :iie  organixa- 
tion.,  dasdficadon^  programme  of  daily  exerdses;,  modes  of 
pnmdtment,  motives  to  be  appealed  to,  etc^  etc 

History  of  Edncation,  and  Educational  Biogiapby,  espe> 
daily  the  latter,  on  account  of  its  eibct  in  aioadng  enthu- 
siasm. 

School  Laws,  and  the  Tartous  modes  of  superintending 


84:  AMERICAN  NORMAL    SCHOOL    CONVENTION. 

and  controlling  the  public  schools  in  the  difi'erent  States, 
and  in  some  of  the  prominent  cities  of  our  country,  and, 
so  far  as  practical,  in  foreign  countries. 

Practice  in  Teaching  in  an  Experimental  School,  if  possi- 
ble, and  at  all  events  in  the  Normal  School,  with  criticisms 
and  practical  directions — the  latter  by  the  teacher,  and  the 
former  by  both  the  teacher  and  the  class. 

There  are  various  methods  of  accomplishing  the  work 
here  sketched  that  commend  themselves  to  the  judgment  of 
the  thoughtful  teacher,  and  may  be  used  together  or  suc- 
cessively. Books  on  educational  topics  are  studied  and 
recited  from  in  the  same  manner  as  ordinary  text-books  ; 
other  books  of  the  same  kind  are  used  as  reference  books, 
as  are  also  encyclopedias,  dictionaries,  works  on  science, 
historical  and  biographical  works,  gazetteers,  Barnard's 
Journal,  etc.  These  reference  books  are  freely  used  by  the 
students,  and  the  results  of  the  reading  are  sometimes  given 
to  the  class  in  the  form  of  general  exercises,  which  are  con- 
ducted on  principles  laid  down  in  the  science  of  education, 
and  the  whole  exercise  is  afterward  criticised  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  class  and  by  the  teacher,  in  respect  to  both  mat- 
ter and  manner.  For  the  purpose  of  more  thoroughly 
awakening  the  thoughts  of  the  members  of  the  class,  and 
keeping  them  in  vigorous  exercise,  the  teaching  is  done 
mainly  by  questions. 

In  the  criticisms,  much  stress  is  laid  upon  the  philo- 
sophical sequence  of  these  questions,  upon  the  clearness  of 
the  statements,  the  ap»parent  clearness  of  the  pupil-teacher's 
understanding  of  the  subject,  upon  the  promptness  and  life 
exhibited  by  him,  upon  the  suavity  and  dignity  of  his  man- 
ner, and  upon  the  power  with  which  he  carried  the  class 
with  him.  This  furnishes  excellent  practice  in  teaching  in 
the  Normal  School. 


85 

Another  method  that  has  been  found  efficient  in  the  study 
of  this  subject,  is  that  of  discussing  in  the  class  a  topic 
previously  assigned,  and  requiring  a  written  essay  to  be 
afterward  prepared  by  the  students  upon  the  same  topic. 
These  essays  are  expected  to  express  the  views  of  the 
writers  after  all  the  reading  and  thought  they  have  been 
able  to  give  the  subject,  and  in  the  preparation  they  are 
allowed  tO"  use.  as  their  judgment  may  dictate,  the  thoughts 
presented  in  the  discussion.  This  method  possesses  several 
obvious  advantages. 

It  promotes  a  habit  of  careful  attention  to  what  one  hears 
said,  even  when  the  subject  of  the  discourse  is  something 
other  than  the  faults  of  one's  neighbors.  I  will  not  stop  to 
discuss  the  importance  of  this  habit,  nor  to  inquire  how 
many,  or  what  proportion  of  our  church-goers  and  lecture- 
hearers  practice  it  with  any  degree  of  accuracy. 

The  exercise  also  tends  to  promote  accurate  habits  of 
thinking,  of  arranging  and  classifying  facts  and  principles, 
accustoming  the  pupil,  as  it  does,  to  gather  up  the  frag- 
ments of  knowledge  presented  in  the  discussions,  and  to 
build  them  into  a  systematical  whole. 

How  ofren  does  it  happen  that  when  there  has  been  a  dis- 
cussion to  which  young  people  have  listened,  even  though 
the  exercise  has  been  under  the  charge  of  a  teacher,  and 
many  good  thoughts  have  been  uttered,  and  many  import- 
ant principles  enunciated,  and  trains  of  reasoning  pointed 
out — how  often  does  it  happen,  nevertheless,  that  for  want 
of  this  power  of  arranging,  the  students  carry  away  very 
little  and  perhaps  nothing — that  there  remains  in  their 
minds  only  a  vague  and  general  recollection  of  an  interest- 
ing conversation,  but  no  distinct  and  positive  appreciation 
of  the  principles  advanced  or  logical  relations  traced  out  ? 

Again  ;  by  this  method  the  student  is  thrown  upon  his 


86  AMEBIC  AN   NORMAL   SCHOOL    CONVENTION. 

own  resources,  is  compelled  to  read  in  various  directions, 
to  consult  various  books,  and  to  put  together  the  scraps  of 
knowledge  derived  from  various  authors.  He  is  compelled 
to  use  books  without  assistance  from  his  instructor,  and  to 
use  them  like  a  rational  being,  that  is,  to  think  of  what 
he  reads,  and  not  to  make  himself  a  mere  mental  dyspep- 
tic, swallowing  all  he  finds,  but  unable  to  digest  any- 
thing. 

By  this  method,  too,  by  the  preparation  of  these  written 
statements,  the  pupil  becomes  accustomed  to  accuracy  of 
expression.  The  importance  of  this  habit,  in  an  educational 
point  of  view,  can  scarcely  be  over-estimated.  It  is  one  of 
the  marks  of  a  scholar,  and  contributes  greatly  to  accuracy 
of  thought.  "  Reading^''  says  Lord  Bacon,  "  maketh  2ifull 
man,  conversation  maketh  a  ready  man,  and  writing  maketh 
an  exact  man."  To  the  teacher,  the  habit  of  being  accurate 
in  expression  is  so  necessary  in  the  imparting  of  instruction, 
that  he  needs  to  make  use  of  every  means  in  his  power  of 
attaining  it. 

How^  can  a  child  be  taught  to  think  accurately  by  a  teach- 
er whose  language  is  vague  and  arribigiious  f  The  most  exact 
and  careful  statements  will  frequently  be  misunderstood  by 
thoughtless  children,  but  when  the  teaching  becomes  inex- 
act and  pointless,  the  whole  seems  almost  o.  farce. 

Again  ;  this  exercise  gives  facility  in  composition,  more 
particularly  upon  topics  connected  with  education.  There 
are  many  reasons  why  this  ought  to  be  considered  an  essen- 
tial qualification  to  every  one  proposing  to  become  a  teach- 
er. So  obvious  are  these  reasons,  that  we  will  not  weary 
your  patience  with  the  enumeration  of  them. 

And  finally,  the  method  we  are  discussing  enables  the 
Normal  instructor  to  judge  more  accurately  and  justly  ot 
the  soundness  of  the  pupil's  opinions  on  matters  relating  to 


87 

teaching  than  he  could  from  oral  recitations  alone,  not  that 
the  latter  can  be  dispensed  with. 

Oar  teachers  need  to  be  not  only  "  exact^'"^  but  also 
^'' ready  f*  along  with  the  accuracy  acquired  by  practice  in 
writing,  they  need  the  promptness  and  confidence  which 
can  be  attained  only  by  vigorous,  wide-awake,  oral  recita- 
tions. 

Among  the  topics  adapted  to  being  treated  in  this  way 
may  be  mentioned  the  following  : 

1st.  The  nature  of  education. 

2d.  The  necessity  of  making  it  universal, 

3d.  The  order  of  succession  in  the  development  of  the 
faculties  of  children,  and  consequent  arrangement  of  their 
studies. 

4th.  The  improvement  of  the  senses,  and  of  the  power  of 
observation,  and  the  best  method  of  effecting  it. 

5th.  The  culture  of  the  memory,  and  the  best  method  of 
effecting  it. 

6th.  The  culture  of  the  reasoning  powers,  and  the  best 
methods  of  promoting  it. 

7th.  How  to  improve  the  taste  and  tlie  imagination. 

8th.  How  to  promote  the  supremacy  of  the  conscience. 

9th.  Organization  of  a  school,  including  classification, 
programme  of  daily  exercises,  etc. 

10th.  How  to  teach  reading  in  primary  and  grammar 
schools. 

11th.  How  to  conduct  a  recitation. 

12th.  The  use  of  general  exercises  in  school,  and  the  best 
method  of  conducting  them. 

13th.  How  the  teacher  may  most  effectually  aid  his 
pupils  in  the  formation  of  good  moral  habits. 

To  prepare  essays  on  the  above  and  similar  topics,  each 
taking  from  eight  to  fifteen  minutes  in   the  reading,  will 


88  AMERICAN   NORMAL    SCHOOL   CONVENTION. 

require  on  the  part  of  the  pupil  much  useful  thought,  and 
will  greatly  aid  him  in  laying  out  beforehand  a  plan  of  his 
operations  as  a  teacher.  Of  course  the  essays  must  be  crit- 
ically examined  by  the  instructor,  both  in  respect  to  the 
style  and  manner  of  treating  the  subject.  Great  pains 
should  be  taken  to  make  models  of  composition,  as  well  as 
correct  expositions  of  the  philosophy  of  teaching. 

The  last  topic  upon  our  general  list  is  the  critical  study 
of  the  English  Language  and  some  of  its  best  literature,  with 
Phonetic  Analysis,  Elocution,  etc. 

This  should  also  include  the  history  of  the  English  lan- 
guage and  literature,  with  some  study  of  the  prominent  au- 
thors of  every  period  of  its  existence.  And,  in  the  exam- 
ination of  authors,  something  more  should  be  done  than 
merely  to  read  over  the  selections  from  them,  and  to  apply 
artificial  definitions  of  the  figures  of  speech,  and  an  equally 
artificial  and  unappreciated  explanation  of  few  of  the  allu- 
sions. 

The  ground  of  every  simile  and  metaphor  should  be  point- 
ed out,  its  heauty  perceived  and  enjoyed,  and  ih.Qfo7'ce,  as 
well  as  th^facts^  of  every  allusion  explained. 

Thus,  it  seems  to  me,  that  the  study  of  literature  can  be 
made  the  means  of  thorough  and  solid  mental  discipline,  as 
well  as  oi"  refining  the  taste  and  of  expanding  and  invigor- 
ating the  imagination. 

It  may  be  thought  an  improper  distinction  is  here  made 
between  this  subject  and  others  which  may  be  considered 
as  equally  allied  to  the  professionel  studies  of  the  teacher, 
but  we  think  that  on  mature  thought  it  will  be  found  that 
the  study  of  his  mother-tongue  is  peculiarly  necessary  to 
him.  Language  is  in  a  special  sense  his  instrument — the 
instrument  with  which  he  is  enabled  to  use  other  instru- 
ments. 


89 

As  already  stated,  under  another  topic,  accuracy  of  ex- 
pression is  indispensable  to  the  instructor  of  youth,  if  he 
would  do  his  work  well.  And  for  us,  what  is  accuracy  of 
expression  but  a  correct  use  of  this  vigorous  speech  of  ours? 
And  how  can  he  be  accurate  in  expression  who  does  not 
appreciate  something  of  the  power  of  this  noble  medium  of 
communication  ? 

The  teacher  needs  every  day  a  practical  knowledge  of  the 
force  of  words,  and  an  appreciation  oi  minute  shades  of  dif- 
ference between  one  word  and  another.  His  every  ex- 
pression in  school  should  be  a  model  for  elegance  and  for 
fitness  in  conveying  thought.  And  how  shall  he  acquire 
this  power  over  language  ?  How  shall  he  become  so  in- 
spired with  the  genius  of  the  English  language  that  its 
words  and  idioms  shall  spontaneously  flow  from  his  lips  in 
all  their  power  and  beauty?  Evidently  by  studying  thor- 
oughly and  critically  the  masters  of  the  language,  the  Shak- 
speares  and  Miltons,  the  Burkes  and  Addisons,  who  have 
immortalized  its  forms  and  exalted  it  into  a  place  by  the 
side  of  the  languages  of  Homer,  Cicero,  and  David  ;  by 
studying  their  creations  until  he  can  in  some  degree  fathom 
the  profound  philosophy,  soar  to  the  noble  conceptions,  and 
appreciate  the  grand  utterances  of  these  gifted  sons  of  the 
English  muse,  and  illustrious  apostles  of  English  prose. 

The  course  here  sketched  would  furnish  about  one  and  a 
half  years  of  busy  work  for  a  college  graduate  of  fair  abil- 
ities, and  this  is  as  long,  perhaps,  as  it  is  desirable  tliat  the 
special  preparation  of  teachers  should  at  present  be  made. 
It  is  a  much  shorter  time  than  is  occupied  for  the  same 
purpose  in  other  professions.  But  I  doubt  whether,  at  ])res- 
ent  at  least,  the  professional  studies  of  the  teacher  need  so 
much  time  as  is  given  to  those  of  the  physician  or  lawyer. 

These  are  a  few  not  very  well-arranged  thoughts  upon 


90  AMERICAN   NORMAL    SCHOOL   CONVENTION. 

this  exceedingly  important  subject.  If  their  utterance 
shall  call  forth  from  others  better  informed  thoughts  and 
suggestions  more  full  and  more  philosophical,  such  as  will 
aid  in  the  practical  solution  of  the  problem  proposed,  no 
one  will  more  heartily  rejoice  at  the  result  than  the  writer 
of  this  brief  paper.  If  the  essay  possesses  sufhcient  vitality 
to  be  the  occasion  of  arousing  in  some  degree  the  abound- 
ing life  of  some  of  the  honored  members  of  this  Associa- 
tion, it  possesses  all  the  merit  that  its  author  would  ever 
think  of  claiming  for  it. 

The  above  papers  behig  read,  Prof.  Camp,  of  Connecticut,  rose 
to  answer  some  of  the  objections  stated  by  Prof.  Wickersham,  as 
having  been  urged  by  some  to  model  schools.  He  thought  experi- 
ence had  decided  the  practicability  and  benefit  to  be  derived  from 
the  union  of  a  Model  with  a  Normal  School ;  though  he  was  not 
prepared  to  say  that  a  good  Normal  School  could  not  exist  without 
one.  Yet  he  was  of  a  decided  opinion,  alter  having  visited  the 
schools  of  this  couritry  to  a  considerable  extent,  that  Model  Schools 
are  a  very  great  help  to  Normal  Schools. 

The  first  objection,  that  they  interrupted  the  pupil-teachers,  was 
obviated  by  the  course  pursued  at  the  Connecticut  Normal  School, 
The  model  school  there  includes  five  hundred  pupils  of  all  grades, 
sent  there  not  only  by  people  of  the  State,  but  from  other  States, 
even  from  North  Carolina  and  the  boarding-schools  of  New  York. 
Each  teacher  who  goes  into  the  model  school  to  teach  has  a  special 
work  to  perform,  and  he  does  it  without  interfering  with  his  studies 
or  recitations  in  the  Normal  School.  They  teach  in  these  classes, 
under  the  eye  of  the  Principal,  and  are  expected  to  be  responsible 
for  the  government  and  instruction  while  there.  Instead  of  being 
ail  int«-rruption  to  them,  they  actually  prepare  themselves  more 
thoroughly  for  the  lessons  they  are  to  give  in  the  Model  School 
than  for  those  they  recite  in  the  Normal  School. 

The  model  schools  are  important  helps  to  decide  on  the  adapta- 
tion of  pupil-students  for  the  places  they  are  to  fill  afterward.  I 
am  far  from  believing,  said  Mr.  Camp,  that  there  i^  no  desire  for  a 
professional  training  in  the  art  of  teaching  among  the  young  men 
and  young  women  of  our  country.     The  feeling  is  increasing  c;very 


KEMAJRKS   OF   MK.    N.    T.    ALLEN.  91 

day,  that  there  is  a  professional  work  to  be  done  for  the  teacher  as 
well  as  the  lawyer  or  the  doctor. 

Another  objection  was,  that  model  schools  suffer  from  a  change 
of  teachers.  We  have  no  change  except  in  case  of  sickness  or 
absence.  A  teacher  is  assigned  to  a  class  in  the  model  school, 
which  he  takes  at  the  beginning  of  the  term,  and  is  with  that  class 
during  the  term  ;  and  the  very  best  teaching  given  there  is  by  the 
pupils  of  the  Normal  School.  I  have  heard  persons,  who  have 
been  at  the  head  of  grammar  schools  in  Boston,  say  that  they  have 
heard  better  teaching  than  they  could  themselves  give.  They  have 
one  particular  class  ;  they  have  a  pride  to  make  that  class  as  good 
as  possible. 

More  than  half  of  those  who  come  to  our  school  have  been 
teachers  before.  Three  of  the  teachers  in  the  senior  class  now 
are  married  ;  four  of  them  have  taught  high  schools  for  years,  and 
have  been  in  the  Normal  School  a  year  and  a  half.  It  has  been 
found  that  these  teachers  thus  trained  are  the  best  we  have  in  our 
State.  More  than  one  third  of  the  teachers  in  Connecticut  have 
been  trained  in  the  Normal  School.  A  gentlemen  who  took  the 
valedictory  in  his  class  in  college  and  one  of  our  graduates  are 
employed  in  the  same  institution  in  teaching,  and  the  Normal 
School  grailuate  receives  twice  the  salary  of  the  other,  simply 
because  it  is  believed  he  possesses  twice  the  power  of  the  other. 

Mr.  N.  T.  Allex,  of  West  Newton,  Mass.,  one  of  the  earliest 
model  school  teachers,  replied  to  some  of  the  objections  presented 
by  Prof.  Wickersham.  He  thought  the  Normal  School  without  a 
model  school  was  a  partial  one  only.  The  great  proportion — per- 
haps nine  tenths — of  the  failures  of  teachers  from  Normal  Schools 
is  the  result  of  the  want  of  discipline,  and  this  power  can  not  be 
tested  where  there  is  no  model  school.  I  know,  said  Mr.  Allen, 
that  Mr.  Marm,  Father  Pierce,  and  Mr.  Tillinghast  held  to  the  idea 
that  where  teachers  could  be  tried  and  tested  in  the  model  school, 
and  could  have  the  pupils  under  their  entire  control,  they  would  be 
more  likely  to  succeed  than  those  who  had  no  such  opportunity  to 
test  themselves.  While  the  model  school  was  in  existence  at  West 
Newton,  there  were  far  more  applications  for  admission  than  they 
could  receive  ;  and  why  they  are  not  now  connected  with  the  Nor- 
mal Schools  of  Massachusetts  I  do  not  understand. 

Prof.  Wickersham   expressed  his  gratification   at  the   answers 


92  AMERICAN    NOEMAL    SCHOOL    CONVENTION. 

given  to  the  objections  he  had  presented,  not  as  his  own,  but  those 
which  he  often  heard  from  others  in  Pennsylvania  He  said  :  I 
propose  to  have  a  model  school  in  connection  with  the  Normal 
School  which  we  are  to  open  at  Millersville.  Our  pupils  in  the 
Normal  School  will  be  expected  to  have  a  fair  knowledge  of  the 
branches  before  they  enter.  The  first  six  months  they  will  review 
the  common  branches.  The  next  year  they  will  continue  to  study 
some  common  branches,  and  take  up  some  higher  ones,  and  study 
the  theory  of  teaching  for  that  year.  Then,  for  the  last  six  months, 
the  senior  class  will  become  the  faculty  of  the  model  school.  They 
will  go  in  there  and  do  the  teaching  under  the  eye  of  a  permanent 
instructor  ;  but  the  class  will  be  responsible  for  the  working  of  the 
school,  for  its  government,  and  each  individual,  for  his  teaching. 
If  the  senior  class  is  engaged  in  studies  at  the  time,  they  will  pur- 
sue their  studies  at  other  hours  than  those  which  require  their 
attention  to  the  model  school. 

Mr.  HoLLisTER,  of  Somerville,  N.  J.,  added  his  testimony  to  the 
superiority  of  those  teachers  who  had  been  trained  in  Normal 
Schools,  as  shown  in  schools  in  Somerville. 

The  committee  on  resolutions  pertninmg  to  Horace  Mann  were 
instructed  to  prepare  suitable  acknowledgments  of  the  courtesies 
and  hospitalities  extended  to  the  members  of  the  Association. 

A  financial  committee  was  appointed,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Oliver 
and  Wickersham  and  Dr.  McJilton,  and  $27  50  were  raised  to  meet 
the  expenses  of  the  Association. 

Adjourned. 

THURSDAY    AFTERNOON. 

The  Convention  reassembled  at  3  p.m. 

Messrs.  Crosby,  Colburn,  Smyth,  Wickersham.  and  Dr.  McJilton 
were  appointed  a  committee  to  embody  in  brief  resolutions  the  gen- 
eral conclusions  reached  in  our  discussions. 

At  the  suggestion  of  the  Presiderjt,  the  Association  spent  some 
time  in  considering  such  questions  as  members  were  disposed  to 
offer,  so  as  to  make  a  practical  exercise  by  answering  the  same  as 
far  as  possible. 

Prof.  Wickersham  proposed  the  question  to  Prof.  Phelps — 
What  methods  are  used  in  Normal  Schools  to  teach  teachers  the 
art  of  teaching? 


EEMAKKS   OF   PROF.    PHELPS.  93 

Prof.  Phelps  said  :  Our  lessons  commence  with  what  may  prop- 
erly be  called  the  Science  of  Education  ;  that  is,  we  endeavor  to 
determine  by  lectures  and  conversational  exercises  what  education 
is.  We  endeavor  to  give  our  pupils  a  clear  conception  of  the  end 
and  objects  of  education.  We  lead  them  to  look  upon  man  as  a 
being  possessing  a  three-fold  nature — physical,  intellectual,  and 
moral.  For  convenience,  and  I  think  instruction,  it  is  well  also  to 
consider  him  as  possessing  an  emotional  or  affectional  nature.  He 
possesses  a  heart  and  conscience. 

We  then  endeavor  to  discover  the  means  by  which  these  various 
departments  of  man  are  to  be  trained  or  drawn  out,  it  being  assumed 
that  the  primary  object  of  education  is  to  develop  and  unfold  the 
powers  and  faculties  with  which  he  is  endowed.  Our  idea  is,  that 
the  growth  of  the  human  being,  physically,  intellectually,  and 
morally,  must  proceed  in  accordance  with  laws  as  definite,  many 
of  them  as  well  defined,  as  the  laws  and  processes  which  govern 
physical  nature.  Our  aim  is  to  give  a  clear  conception  of  these 
laws.  Then  follows  an  attempt  to  show  by  a  variety  of  methods 
how  these  laws  are  to  be  most  successfully  applied  to  the  develop- 
ment of  the  powers  and  faculties  of  the  huuian  being.  This  s 
done  by  lectures  and  conversational  exercises.  We  also  call  in 
such  authorities  as  we  can.  We  use  Barnard's  "Education  in  Eu- 
rope," which  IS  a  complete  encyclopedia  in  regard  to  all  depart- 
ments of  education.  W  e  endeavor  to  study  the  theory  of  education 
as  viewed  by  other  nations.  We  follow  that  with  an  examination 
of  school  machinery,  examine  systems  adopted  in  Europe  as  well 
as  in  our  country.  After  a  time  has  been  given  to  this  theoretical 
instruction,  we  commence  the  practice. 

We  assume  that  the  first  essays  in  practice  should  be  under  the 
constant  supervision  of  a  practical  eye.  Then  we  have  the  teach- 
ing of  the  Normal  School  class,  in  which  the  class  is  practiced 
upon.  Finally,  the  practice  culminates  in  the  experimental  school, 
in  which  the  entire  business  of  instructing  and  governing  the  pupils 
is  thrown  upon  the  Normal  pupils. 

We  endeavor  in  the  Normal  School,  I  should  have  said,  to  take 
up  each  branch  of  knowledge,  and  ascertain  what  are  its  educa- 
tional uses.  We  take  Arithmetic,  for  instance,  and  ask  what  it  is 
suited  to  accomplish,  what  faculties  it  is  suited  to  develop.  So  we 
consider  the  uses   of  grammar,  geography,  drawing,  etc.,  asking 


94  REMARKS   OF   PROFS.    WICKERSHAM   AND   BIGELOW. 

what  faculties  of  mind  or  emotions  of  the  soul  they  affect,  and  how 
they  affect  them. 

Then,  again,  we  consider  these  branches  in  another  aspect,  and 
ask  what  is  the  natural  order  of  developing  arithmetic,  or  grammar, 
or  any  other  branch  of  study. 

Prof.  Phei[)s'  time  having  expired,  he  proposed  the  same  question 
to  Prof.  Wickersham  which  he  had  given  to  him. 

Prof.  WicKERSHAM  Said  that  in  his  school  all  except  the  junior 
and  senior  class  meet  in  what  he  called  the  Teachers'  Class,  each 
day.  On  one  day  there  may  be  a  lecture  on  the  philosophy  of 
teaching.  The  members  of  the  class  take  notes  of  it  as  it  is  given 
slowly.  The  next  day  we  review  these  notes,  and  the  next  we 
make  a  recitation  of  it.  An  opportunity  to  examine  books  is  given 
at  the  same  time.  The  whole  course  is  divided  into  four  divisions, 
the  first  relating  to  the  principles  or  philosophy  of  teaching,  the 
second  to  methods  of  teaching  the  various  branches,  commencing 
with  the  alphabet,  and  going  on  to  other  branches.  And  in  this 
connection  we  not  only  consider  the  methods,  but  discuss  the  rea- 
sons for  adopting  one  rather  than  another. 

Then  we  take  up  what  we  call  school  economy,  organization, 
methods  of  hearing  recitations,  etc.  The  last  part  of  the  course  we 
occupy  with  subjects  relating  to  school  government.  These  are  the 
discussions  on  the  lectures.     Then  they  are  reviewed  in  classes. 

Prof.  Phelps — Will  you  be  kind  enough  to  state  in  the  form  (»f 
propositions  what  you  consider  some  of  the  fundamental  principles 
of  education  ? 

Prof.  WiCKEKSHAM — That  is  a  pretty  hard  question.  I  think 
that  the  fundamental  idea  of  education  is  that  of  development, 
growth.  I  think  the  Creator  conterred  upon  us  the  ability  to 
improve  ourselves,  and  that  the  fundamental  idea  would  be  that  of 
drawing  out  this  ability,  and  putting  it  in  exercise.  I  think  the 
powers  of  the  mind  are  such  as  the  gentleman  himself  has  indi- 
cated. 

Prof.  G.  N.  BiGELOw,  of  Framingham,  Mass.,  was  next  called  up 
by  Prof.  Phelps.  He  said  his  practice  had  been,  particularly  in 
the  last  term  of  the  classes,  to  present  the  matter  of  instruction  in 
the  art  of  teaching  more  in  detail.  After  a  few  exercises,  certain 
works  are  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  pupils,  and  certain  topics  are 
assigned   to   them   for   examination.      We   meet  them   and  discuss 


\  B  R  A  /.^ 

VNfVERs?. 

KEMAKKS    OF   MR.    EMERSON.  95 

them,  requiring  the  pupils  to  state  the  author's  views,  so  as  to  know 
whether  they  understand  them ;  and  then  if  they  dissent  from  the 
views  of  the  author,  any  or  all  of  them,  they  state  the  grounds  of 
dissent  and  give  their  own  views. 

After  going  through  the  different  topics  discussed  by  different 
writers  on  education,  we  take  up  the  topics  which  have  been  taught 
during  the  previous  term,  and  discuss  the  methods  which  the  teach- 
ers have  pursued  in  teaching,  and  inquire  how  each  individual  would 
conduct  his  own  school.  There  will  be  a  variety  of  methods,  and 
these  methods  are  discussed,  and  the  principles  that  underlie  them 
are  tested.  After  spending  a  week  or  two  in  this  way,  we  pass  to 
methods  of  teaching  the  alphabet,  reading,  spelling,  geography,  etc. 
Then  we  consider  the  various  school  laws  of  the  State. 

Prof.  Phelps  asked  Prof.  Bigelow  what  method  he  pursued  in 
forming  moral  character — how  are  teachers  prepared  to  give  moral 
instruction  in  the  best  way. 

Prof.  Bigelow — That  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  things.  A  per- 
son must  be,  in  every  sense,  what  he  would  have  his  scholars  be- 
come, and  act  out  and  live  out  what  they  ought  to  be.  I  do  not 
believe  it  possible  for  one  who  has  not  these  elements  to  train  one 
to  them.  I  have  seen  some  individuals  upon  whom,  taking  the  class 
as  a  whole,  I  had  tried  to  bring  some  influences,  with  especial  ref- 
erence to  drawing  out  and  developing  that  nature  in  them  ;  and 
those  efforts  did  not  prove  as  successful  as  I  hoped  they  would. 
Therefore  I  am  not  prepared  to  state  what  is  the  best  method  of 
doing  that  which  seems  to  me  to  be  the  most  difficult  thing  to  ac- 
complish. 

Hon.  Geo.  B  Emerson  was  next  called  up  with  reference  to  the 
same  question.  He  considered  the  moral  training  by  teachers  their 
most  important  work.  The  moral  nature  of  man  is  as  susceptible  as 
^ny  part  of  his  nature,  but  it  is  one  of  the  slowest.  He  did  not  claim 
any  merit  in  doing  it  himself.  He  did  not  consider  his  own  authority 
in  teaching  the  great  laws  of  a  spiritual  life  as  binding  in  any  de- 
gree. He  simply  took  the  great  laws  of  the  Saviour  and  endeav- 
ored to  explain  them  in  a  few  words,  day  after  day.  He  had  felt 
for  many  years  that  that  was  the  most  important  work  he  had  to  do, 
and  that  was  the  highest  point  of  his  responsibility.  He  felt  that 
they  were  immortal  beings  who  were  under  his  influence,  and  he 
would  have  to  give  an  account  of  what  he  did,  and  therefore  he  felt 


96  AMERICAN   NORMAL    SCHOOL    CONVf:NTION. 

bound  to  appeal  continually  to  the  great  doctrines  of  the  Saviour  and 
of  the  Apostles. 

I  thank  God  that  I  am  permitted  to  believe  that  this  constant  en- 
deavor— sincere  and  constant  it  has  been — to  elevate  the  moral  per- 
ceptions and  warm  the  moral  aspirations,  has  been,  by  the  blessing 
of  God,  effectual  in  some  degree — effectual  always.  I  believe  the 
teacher  who  acts  under  the  responsibility  of  his  position  never  can 
utter  and  make  his  own  the  words  of  the  Great  Teacher,  and  en- 
deavor to  bring  them  to  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  young  people 
without  an  effect.  He  must,  however,  do  what  he  can  to  make  the 
life  not  inconsistent  with  the  high  standard  toward  which  he  is 
urging  his  pupils.  But  I  believe  if  any  teacher  who  wishes  to 
teach  the  great  principles  of  human  duty  wil'  take  the  words  of  the 
Saviour  day  after  day,  morning  after  morning,  as  an  accompani- 
ment to  that  prayer  which  I  trust  every  sincere  worker  in  the 
school-room  always  uses,  and  endeavors  to  enforce  those  words  and 
show  their  divine  beauty,  their  infinite  authority,  and,  as  well  as  he 
can,  lay  them  before  children,  I  know,  sir,  they  will  have  an  effect ; 
they  can  not  but  have  an  effect.  They  are  the  words  given  us 
with  which  to  do  this  great  work  ;  nothing  else  under  heaven  can 
do  it. 

Here  is  a  great  truth  in  regard  to  human  character  ;  all  that  is 
evil  is  noisy  and  continually  putting  itself  forward  ;  all  that  is  good 
and  true  is  quiet  and  still  in  its  influence. 

Here  is  a  great  lesson  which  seems  to  be  intended  for  teachers 
alone  almost ;  that  great  divine  injunction  of  the  Apostle,  "  Be  not 
overcotne  of  evil,  but  overcome  evil  with  good."  Now,  I  say  to 
my  children,  you  are  continually  exposed  to  evil — in  yourselves 
and  those  about  you.  You  are  to  overcome  it — overcome  it  with 
good. 

To  teachers  I  would  say,  you  are  to  overcome  ignorance.  How  1 
With  all  forms  of  knowledge.  You  are  to  deal  with  obstinacy. 
How  are  you  to  overcome  it?  By  ob««tinacy  ?  No  ;  obstinacy  in 
the  teacher  will  only  ^t^enothen  the  obstinacy  of  the  pupil.  You 
are  to  overcome  it  only  by  sweetness  and  kindness — inexhaustible 
kindness — that  will  do  it.  It  has  been  tried.  Evil  can  not  be 
overcome  with  evil  ;  it  can  be  overcome  with  good. 

Mr.  President,  one  of  my  friends  for  whom  I  have  the  greatest 
affection  and  admiration,  has  often  used  language  like  this  :  "  The 


REPORTS    OF   STATES.  97 

great  teachers  of  mankind,  Plato,  Confucius,  and  Socrates,  taught 
so  and  so."  I  confess,  it  almost  seems  to  me  to  be  like  profanity. 
I  confess,  I  delight  to  read  Plato,  but  when  I  read  the  finest  pas- 
sages of  Plato,  and  turn  thence  to  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  to  the 
doctrines  of  Christ  or  his  Apostles,  it  seems  to  me  as  if  1  had  come 
out  of  the  mists  and  darkness  of  a  lower  world  into  the  brightness 
of  a  glorious  region  where  all  is  light.  I  would  look  to  all  sources 
wheresoever  they  are  to  be  found  for  aid  in  this  work  of  building 
up  the  human  character.  I  believe  every  one  who  comes  to  the 
work  with  a  proper,  teachable  spirit  will  find  in  a  few  pages  of  the 
New  Testament  more  aid  than  in  all  the  writings  of  uninspired  men 
that  have  come  down  to  us. 

Mr.  Emerson  strenuously  urged  that  while  moral  education  is 
more  attended  to  than  it  has  been,  much  greater  effort  should  be 
made  to  elevate  the  moral  nature.  So  far  as  the  education  of  the 
intellect  is  concerned,  said  he,  much  is  done  ;  but  it  is  a  terrible 
fact  that,  with  regard  to  the  two  highest  parts  of  our  nature,  very 
little  or  nothing  is  done. 

Mr.  Ogden,  of  Ohio,  added  his  testimony  to  what  had  just  been 
said  by  Mr.  Emerson.  He  thought  the  best  processes  to  educate 
a  child  physically  are  the  best  to  educate  him  intellectually,  and 
that  the  best  to  educate  him  physically  and  intellectually  are  the 
best  to  educate  him  religiously  and  morally.  There  is  no  antag- 
onism ;  but  all  attempts  to  separate  science  and  religion  are  ruin- 
ous. They  were  made  to  go  hand  in  hand,  the  mistress  and  the 
handmaiden.  Science,  without  religion,  would  be  cold-hearted  in- 
fidelity ;  religion,  without  science,  would  be  narrow-hearted  bigotry. 
Every  lesson  in  arithmetic,  and  grammar,  and  geography  should 
not  onlv  make  our  children  wiser,  but  better.  Every  lesson  should 
point  upward  to  maii's  higher  and  holier  destiny.  All  our  instruc- 
tion ought  to  be  in  moral  truth.  When  we  go  before  our  pupils, 
armed  with  these  truths,  our  teaching  will  have  some  effect. 
Nothing  but  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  is  to  reform  the  world. 

REPORTS    OF     STATES. 

Reports  were  then  called  for  from  delegates  from  States  where 

Normal   Schools  have   been  e^tablished  as  to  the  results  of  those 

institutions  upon  the  cause  of  education.     Massachusetts  was  the 

first  State  called,  for  which  Mr.  Dickinson,  of  the  Westfield  Nor- 

5 


98  AMERICAN   NORMAL    SCHOOL   CONVENTION. 

mal  School,  responded.  The  number  of  students  at  the  Westfield 
school  has  been  increasing  for  some  years,  and  there  are  now  one 
hundred  and  fifty.  The  standard  for  admission  has  been  gradually 
raised,  so  that  some  are  rejected  for  want  of  qualification.  One 
reason  for  the  increased  number  of  students  is  the  increasing  de- 
mand for  Normal  School  graduates  as  teachers.  All  those  who 
pass  the  course  in  such  a  way  as  to  enable  us  to  recommend  them, 
have  constant  employment.  The  number  of  applications  for  teach- 
ers exceeds  the  supply.  The  first  families  in  the  place  throw  open 
their  residences  as  boarding-places  for  the  students. 

We  had  a  model  school  which  is  now  given  up,  and  I  do  not 
know  that  the  Normal  School  is  injured  thereby. 

The  President — In  what  form  did  that  model  school  exist  ? 
Mr.  Dickinson — It  was  one  of  the  public  schools  of  the  town. 
The  President — On  what  account  was  it  given  up  1 
Mr.   Dickinson — The  relations  between  the  authorities   of  the 
district  and  the  Normal  School  were  not  entirely  pleasant. 
Dr.  McJiLTON — Are  the  sexes  taught  together  ? 
Mr.  Dickinson — They  are. 

Mr.  Ariel  Parish,  of  Springfield — What  is  the  substitute  for 
the  model  school  ? 

Mr.  Dickinson — Instruction  is  given  by  topics,  and  the  class  of 
teachers  recite  in  the  same  manner  in  which  they  would  have  their 
pupils  recite.  The  student  recites  without  questions,  in  the  form 
of  a  teaching  exercise  before  the  class,  who  may  ask  questions,  and 
he  is  called  to  illustrate  the  principles  brought  out  by  the  topic 
under  consideration.  It  is  requested  that  things  shall  go  before 
names  ;  all  go  through  the  process  together,  and  all  arrive  at  the 
same  conclusion  at  the  same  time. 

The  President — Do  you  have  what  are  called  teaching  exer- 
cises ? 

Mr.  Dickinson — We  do. 

The  President. — Do  you  think  those  really  a  substitute  for  a 
model  school  in  which  little  children  are  to  be  taught  ? 

Mr.  Dickinson— I  think  we  have  a  pretty  safe  guide  in  this 
matter,  because  the  teachers  refer  to  their  own  consciousness  with 
reference  to  the  manner  in  which  we  must  derive  our  knowledge. 
I  think  the  principles  can  be  settled  even  better  than  by  experi- 
ments upon  individuals.     I  think  that  the  teavhers  who  have  gone 


REMARKS    OF   MR.    EMERSON   AND   OTHERS.  99 

out  since  the  model  school  was  abolished  have  had  as  much  success 
as  those  who  went  out  before. 

Mr.  Emerson — Would  not  the  gentleman  from  Westfield  con- 
sider a  model  school  like  that  at  New  Britain,  Connecticut,  profit- 
able ? 

Mr.  Dickinson — I  think  the  school  in  New  Britain,  with  its 
model  school,  is  considered  a  success.  I  think  it  might  be  an  ad- 
vantage, so  far  as  testing  the  students'  power  of  managing  a  school 
or  governing  it  is  concerned. 

Mr.  Northrop  said  it  was  an  important  element  in  the  practice 
at  the  Westfield  Normal  School  that  the  members  were  trained  to 
put  themselves  in  the  stand-point  of  the  child,  to  be  literally  child- 
like. One  of  the  class  becomes  the  teacher  for  the  hour,  while  the 
rest  "  play  the  child,"  and  aim  to  think  and  speak  as  children  ;  to 
state  difficulties  and  objections  as  beginners  would  do,  and  thus  by 
recalling  their  own  early  impressions  and  experiences,  prepare 
themselves  to  appreciate  the  peculiarities  and  necessities  of  the 
juvenile  mind  and  heart.  T^e  difficulty  of  understanding  little 
children  is  only  exceeded  by  its  importance.  The  success  of  the 
teacher  depends  very  much  upon  his  quick  discernment  of  charac- 
ter. With  this  rare  and  happy  faculty,  he  can  readily  adapt  the 
countless  varieties  of  method  and  of  motive  to  the  endless  diversi- 
ties of  character,  and  this  power  of  reading  the  juvenile  mind  and 
heart  is  most  readily  acquired  by  the  habit  of  reproducing  our  own 
early  feelings,  associations,  and  experience. 

The  President — We  have  endeavored  to  subject  the  matter  to 
all  sorts  of  tests  here.  We  have  the  teaching  exercise,  in  which 
the  teacher  is  to  conceive  his  class  to  be  little  children,  and  the  uni- 
form testimony  of  those  who  teach  is,  that  it  is  far  more  difficult  to 
conceive  of  those  of  their  own  age  being  children,  and  to  teach 
them  as  such,  than  to  teach  a  class  of  real  children.  I  think  the 
instruction  of  a  class  by  its  own  members  is  a  very  valuable  adjunct 
indeed. 

Mr.  Dickinson — The  uniform  testimony  of  our  pupils  is,  that  it 
is  much  more  difficult  to  teach  those  who  are  acting  in  the  place  of 
children  than  to  teach  actual  children. 

Prof.  D.  N.  Camp,  of  Connecticut,  said  the  school  at  New  Brit- 
ain had  been  established  ten  years.  The  condition  on  which  it 
was  established  was,  that  a  model  school  must  be  connected  with 


100  AMERICAN   NORMAL   SCHOOL    CONVENTION. 

it.  The  number  in  the  Normal  School  last  year  was  266,  of  whom 
170  were  females  and  96  males,  all  taught  together.  The  arrange- 
ment of  the  school  contemplates  three  years'  instruction.  Some 
remain  during  the  whole  course,  but  many  do  not.  One  class  is  al- 
ways at  liberty  to  instruct  in  the  model  school.  There  were  300, 
last  term,  in  the  model  school.  That  school  is  graded  ;  it  has  cost 
much,  but  it  is  considered  of  incalcuable  advantage  to  the  teachers, 
and  also  as  a  model  for  the  teachers  of  the  State,  so  that  they  may 
visit  and  learn  the  best  system  of  instruction.  There  the  pupils  of 
the  Normal  School  can  go  and  ascertain  for  themselves  whether 
they  can  govern  and  teach  a  class  successfully  and  secure  their 
respect.  The  teachers  themselves  have  felt  that  to  be  a  very  im- 
portant thing. 

The  pupils  of  the  junior  class  in  the  Normal  School  go  and  ob- 
serve the  model  school,  during  the  first  term,  without  doing  any- 
thing or  taking  any  notes.  Then  the  next  term  they  teach  the 
lower  class.  There  is  no  change  of  teachers  in  the  class.  One 
who  goes  through  a  course  of  thre»  years,  spends  four  terms  as  a 
teacher  of  a  class.  There  is  a  great  advantage  in  having  children 
to  teach  rather  than  playing  children. 

Mr.  Ogden,  of  Ohio,  inquired  how  the  art  of  government  could 
be  imparted  well  without  the  class  of  a  model  school  ? 

Mr.  Dickinson — The  theory  of  government  must  be  based  upon 
a  knowledge  of  the  nature  of  the  will  and  the  susceptibilities.  I 
contend  that  a  teacher  in  a  model  school  does  not  have  a  real  school 
under  his  charge.  The  responsibility  of  a  teacher  of  a  model 
school  is  not  that  which  he  will  feel  when  he  comes  to  manage  a 
real  school.  The  model-school  teaching  is  not  real  life  ;  it  is  play, 
so  far  as  that  is  concerned. 

It  is  impossible  for  our  model  schools  to  compete  with  the  schools 
of  the  State. 

Prof.  D.  P.  CoLBURN,  for  Rhode  Island,  said,  the  Normal  School 
of  that  State  was  located  first  in  the  city  of  Providence,  in  1854. 
It  was  removed  to  Bristol  in  1857.  That  was  unfortunate,  as  Prov- 
idence is  the  center  of  travel  for  the  State.  More  than  half  the 
people  of  the  State  can  go  to  Providence  every  day  and  return  at 
night.  This  had  a  great  influence  on  the  attendance  at  the  .school. 
At  Bristol  the  attendance  has  not  been  as  large  as  it  was  at  Provi- 
dence.    We  had,  during  the  last  year,  about  100.     The  fstudents 


REMARKS    OF   PROFS.    WICKER8HAM   AND    SMYTH.  101 

seem  interested  in  the  work  of  the  school,  and  iu  the  work  to  which 
they  are  going. 

We  have  no  model  school,  and  I  can  not  say  now  that  I  desire 
one.'  I  have  had  some  experience  at  Bridgewater,  and  I  believe  it 
was  regarded  by  the  principal  a;nd  teachers  as  not  successful.  1 
think  the  interference  with  the  studies  of  the  pupils  more  than 
counterbalances  its  advantages. 

Our  school  is  for  both  sexes.  During  the  past  term,  from  one 
fourth  to  one  third  were  males.  We  have  found  no  necessity  for 
rules  more  than  we  have  in  any  well-regulated  society.  I  would 
not  have  the  sexes  separated.  I  have  seen  no  evil  from  the  pres- 
ent course,  but,  on  the  contrary,  much  good. 

Prof.  WicKERSHAM,  for  Pennsylvania,  said:  We  have  no  State 
Normal  Schools,  though  we  have  a  number  of  private  ones  which 
are  doing  the  work  that  ought  to  be  done  by  State  schools.  We 
have  a  Normal  School  law,  by  which  the  State  is  divided  into 
twelve  Normal  School  districts,  and  it  is  provided  that  there  may 
be  one  in  each. 

The  Legislature  did  not  think  it  expedient  to  establish  the 
schools,  but  merely  divided  the  State  into  districts,  supposing  that 
private  means  would  be  found  to  establish  them.  They  will  have 
no  direct  appropriation  from  the  State,  at  least  until  after  they  have 
been  organized.  Each  school  is  required  to  have  ten  acres  of 
ground,  a  hall  that  will  seat  one  thousand  persons,  apparatus,  and  a 
library,  and  boarding  accommodations  for  three  hundred  students, 
with  school  accommodations  for  the  same.  The  pupils  are  required 
to  board  in  the  buildings,  or  in  connection  with  the^  school.  The 
schools  are  connected  with  the  State  administration  in  several 
ways.  No  examination  for  giving  diplomas  can  be  held  unless  the 
State  Superintendent  is  present.  • 

We  hope  to  build  up  a  profession  of  teaching  in  Pennsylvania, 
and  that  when  one  receives  a  State  diploma  he  will  not  be  exam- 
ined again  anywhere  in  the  State.  Among  the  features  of  this 
law,  a  model  school  of  one  hundred  pupils  is  required,  and  it  is 
contemplated  to  put  it  entirely  under  the  control  of  the  superin- 
tendent of  the  Normal  School.  He  may  select  his  own  pupils, 
taking  them  anywhere,  and  charge  the*m  little  or  nothing,  as  he 
pleases. 

Professor  Smyth,  of  Colu;nbus,  Ohio,  State  Superintendent  of 


102  AMERICAN   NORMAL   SCHOOL   CONTENTION. 

Schools,  said  :  We  have  no  State  Normal  School  in  Ohio.  The 
friends  of  education  have  for  years  urged  upon  our  General  Assem- 
blies the  importance  of  establishing  such  an  institution:  but  nothing 
has  thus  far  been  accomplished. 

A  few  years  ago,  Mr.  Cyrus  McNeely,  of  Harrison  County,  with 
exemplary  liberality,  donated  a  building  and  grounds  to  our  State 
Teachers'  Association^  to  be  used  for  the  purpose  of  a  Normal 
School.  The  Association  accepted  the  property,  and  organized  a 
school  under  the  charge  of  my  friend  Mr.  Ogden,  who  is  now  pres- 
ent. For  some  time  the  school  was  prosperous,  but  it  soon  became 
evident  that  an  association  of  teachers  was  not  a  body  competent 
to  manage  extensive  financial  interests.  The  trustees  were  teach- 
ers, located  at  points  far  distant  from  each  other.  They  could  sel- 
dom meet,  however  pressing  the  business  which  demanded  their 
attention.  Needed  funds  were  not  forthcoming,  and  the  school  was 
suspended.  The  property,  I  understand,  has  reverted  to  its  former 
owner.  Through  the  energy  and  liberality  of  Mr.  McNeely,  the 
school  has  resumed  operations.  A  most  excellent  principal  has 
been  employed,  and  other  teachers,  as  I  suppose.  But  the  Asso- 
ciation is  no  longer  connected  with  the  institution. 

There  is  another  Normal  School  in  our  State,  located  at  Leb- 
anon, and  called  the  Southwestern  Normal  School.  It  is,  I  believe, 
an  individual  enterprise,  being  controlled  by  its  principal,  Mr.  Al- 
fred Holbrook,  who  is  known  throughout  the  land  as  a  most  earnest 
friend  of  learning,  and  a  successful  teacher.  That  school  is  doing 
a  good  work  for  the  part  of  the  State  in  which  it  is  located. 

And  there  are  several  other  seminaries  in  the  State  which  pay 
special  attention  to  the  training  of  teachers.  All  these  schools  are 
valuable.  But  schools  like  these  do  not  meet  all  our  necessities. 
Dependent  almost  entirely  on  tuition  fees  for  their  support,  it  is  not 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  they  can  make  and  execute  rigid  rules 
of  order  as  can  institutions  not  thus  dependent.  They  must  be  less 
strict  concerning  admission  and  continuance  in  schools.  Pupils 
will  be  more  likely  to  drop  in  at  irregular  times,  and  leave  on  a  sud- 
den, if  it  shall  please  them  so  to  do. 

I  therefore  hope  that  oijr  State  will,  ere  long,  establish  a  school 
of  high  character,  adequate  to  all  our  demands.  While  we  can  but 
rejoice  on  account  of  what  we  have,  we  can  but  regret  that  we  have 
not  all  we  need 


KEMAEKS   OF   PROF.    PHELPS.  103 

Prof.  HovEY  spoke  for  Illinois.  He  said  the  movers  in  getting 
up  the  Normal  School  in  Illinois  desired  two  things — money  to  build 
with,  and  to  pay  the  teachers.  They  succeeded  in  getting  a  per- 
petual appropriation  of  the  interest  of  $100,000.  Competition  as 
to  the  location  led  Bloomington  to  offer  $141,000,  and  the  building 
is  being  erected  there,  and  will  be  completed  in  about  a  year.  It 
is  located  on  a  site  of  sixty  acres,  and  adjoining  it  is  another  hun- 
dred acres  given  by  the  citizens  of  Bloomington,  on  which  we  shall 
build  an  agricultural  and  mechanical  department. 

The  school  has  been  in  operation  two  years  in  temporary  rooms. 
The  compensaiion  is  liberal  to  all  who  are  engaged  in  the  school, 
and  the  feeling  in  regard  to  the  school  is  liberal.  The  people  of 
Illinois  allow  the  teachers  to  do  pretty  much  as  they  think  best. 
We  have  in  the  school  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  each  sex  ;  we  do 
not  think  of  separating  the  sexes  in  Illinois.  There  are  four  male 
teachers  in  the  school. 

The  President — Will  Mr.  Hovey  please  state  why  it  is  called 
a  University. 

Mr.  HovEY — There  was  a  university  fund  unappropriated,  and 
in  order  to  get  the  proceeds  of  that  fund  we  had  to  establish  a  uni- 
versity. (Laughter.)  But  we  do  not  contemplate  that  it  shall  be 
simply  one  department,  so  that  it  shall  become,  instead  of  a  Normal 
School,  the  University  of  Illinois.  We  mean  that  it  shall  be  a 
university  in  fact  as  well  as  in  name. 

Mr.  Silas  Betts,  of  Niles,  Mich.,  spoke  for  Michigan,  though  he 
was  not  connected  with  the  Normal  School,  .which  is  at  Ypsilanti, 
and  he  was  not  acquainted  with  the  details  respecting  it.  He  had 
adopted  a  plan  of  makmg  teachers  of  the  more  advanced  scholars 
of  the  school  with  which  he  was  connected. 

Prof.  Phelps  spoke  of  the  New  Jersey  Normal  School.  There 
is  invested,  at  the  present  time,  in  buildings,  furniture,  etc.,  $120,000 
for  Normal  School  purposes.  The  two  buildings  at  Trenton,  with 
furniture  complete,  have  cost  between  $70,000  and  $80,000.  There 
is,  in  addition  to  the  establishment  here,  a  preparatory  school  at 
Beverly,  the  buildings  of  which  have  cost  from  $30,000  to  $40,000. 
It  is  the  fruit  of  the  liberality  of  one  of  the  citizens  of  New  Jersey, 
Mr.  Paul  Farnum,  of  Beverly.  He  has  donated  the  buildings, 
grounds,  a  library,  and  $20,000.  He  also  paid  the  expense  of 
working  the  institution  for  one  year.     It  is  for  the  purpose  of  doing 


104:  AMERICAlf   NORMAL   SCHOOL   CONVENTION. 

some  of  the  preliminary  work  of  training  necessary  before  entering 
the  Normal  School.  It  is  also  designed  to  test  those  who  desire 
to  enter  the  Normal  School,  and  to  prevent  those  from  entering  who 
may  safely  be  pronounced  unfit,  for  any  reason,  to  become  teachers. 
The  State  appropriates  $1,200,  so  that  it  has  an  annual  income  of 
$2,400.  Pupils  pay  a  tuition  to  some  extent.  The  direction  of 
the  school  is  submitted  to  the  Trustees  of  the  State  Normal  School. 
Both  of  the  schools  are  for  both  sexes. 

The  institution  here  numbered  last  year,  for  one  term,  120,  and 
for  one  term,  110. 

As  to  the  results,  I  think  I  may  say,  that  to  the  direct  influence 
of  the  school  a  greater  advance  has  been  made  in  the  cause  of  pub- 
lic education  in  New  Jersey,  wiihin  the  past  four  years,  than  within 
the  preceding  fourteen  or  fifteen  years.  We  can  not  begin  to  sup- 
ply the  demand  for  Normal-trained  teachers.  I  have  this  day  appli- 
cations for  fifteen  teachers,  and  I  do  not  know  where  one  of  them 
will  come  from.  The  people  will  have  no  other  if  they  can  obtain 
them.  The  sentiment  is  becoming  quite  general,  in  places  where 
Normal  School  teachers  have  been,  that  this  school  must  be  de- 
pended on  for  the  supply. 

One  explanation  of  the  great,  direct  success  of  the  school  in  New 
Jersey  is,  that  the  public  schools  are  very  poor,  and  there  was  even 
a  greater  proportion  of  poor  teachers  here  than  in  our  sister  States. 
The  movement  for  popular  education  is  very  modern  in  this  State. 
We  have  no  such  thing  as  a  system  of  Common  Schools.  The 
great  mass  of  our  country  schools  are  taught  only  so  long  as  the 
public  money  will  carry  them  on,  and  even  then  the  money  goes  to 
the  pockets  of  teachers  who  are  very  incompetent  indeed. 

This  practice,  I  am  told,  prevails  in  many  places.  The  town 
superintendent  actually  pays  to  the  poor  man,  who  does  not  send 
his  children  to  school,  the  proportion  of  money  to  which  his  chil- 
dren are  entitled  for  their  education.  That  state  of  facts  prevails 
to  a  considerable  extent.  Our  laws  are  in  a  crude  condition,  but 
we  dare  not  progress  too  fast. 

Mr.  RoWE  inquired  what  was  the  preference  of  the  people — for 
male  or  female  teachers  ? 

To  which  Prof.  Phelps  replied,  that  the  preference  was  for  male 
teachers,  he  was  sorry  to  say. 

In  this  connection.  Gen.  Oliver  stated,  that  in  Lawrence,  Mass., 


REMARKS  OF  HON.  HENRY  BARNARD.  105 

out  of  forty-four  teachers,  only  four  were  males.     All  the  mathe- 
matics in  the  High  School  is  taught  by  a  lady. 


THURSDAY    EVENING    SESSION. 

The  first  business  was  the  consideration  of  the  place  of  the  next 
meeting.  Rev.  Anson  Smyth  invited  the  Association  to  meet  at 
Columbus. 

Prof.  Crosby  suggested  the  plan  of  holding  a  separate  meeting 
triennially  and  holding  the  other  meetings  annually  in  connection 
with  one  of  the  National  Associations. 

Hon.  Henry  Barnard  invited  the  Association  to  meet  at  Mad- 
ison, Wis.,  in  connection  with  the  National  Teachers'  Association. 

Dr  McJiLTON  advocated  separate  meetings,  when  it  was  voted 
that  the  place  of  the  next  meeting  be  left  to  the  decision  of  the 
councilors. 

Hon.  Henry  Barnard,  of  Wisconsin,  was  called  on  to  give  an 
account  of  the  state  of  education  there.  He  said  :  Wisconsin  has 
a  school  fund,  which  will  amount  to  at  least  $4,000,000.  There  is 
also  a  university  fund,  which  amounts  to  about  $312,000,  and  will 
probably  reach  $400,000.  There  are  other  funds  arising  from  the 
sale  of  swamp  lands,  as  they  are  called,  one  fourth  of  which  are  to 
be  given  to  Normal  instruction,  and  to  be  under  the  control  of  a 
Board  of  Regents  of  the  Normal  Schools.  The  Normal  regents 
expect  their  agent  [Mr.  Barnard]  to  hold  teachers'  institutes,  con- 
duct Normal  classes  in  the  colleges,  academies,  and  high  schools  of 
the  State. 

I  am  expected,  said  Mr.  B.,  to  hold,  in  connection  with  the  Col- 
lege and  Normal  classes,  an  examination  after  the  manner  and  for 
the  same  general  purpose  that  competitive  examinations  are  held  in 
England  to  decide  upon  the  qualification  of  those  who  seek  for  posts 
of  trust  in  the  service  of  the  country  as  clerks,  etc.  I  propose  to 
bring  that  principle  to  bear  upon  the  institutions  that  exist  between 
thti  schools  and  the  university,  and  that  the  effect  will  be  to  raise 
the  standard  of  those  institutions.  Mr.  B.  here  spoke  of  the  need 
of  a  change  in  the  manner  of  appointment  to  posts  of  trust  in  the 
departments  of  the  government,  and  expressed  the  hope  that  they 
might  be  made  as  the  result  of  competitive  examinations. 

It  is  proposed  to  establish  at  Madison  a.  Normal  School.     My 

6* 


106  AMERICAN   NORMAL    SCHOOL   CONVENTION. 

plan  will  be  to  conduct  that  somewhat  differently  from  the  one 
established  here.  I  hold  to  the  general  views  expressed  by  Dr. 
Wines  today.  My  plan  will  be  to  give  full  employment  to  a  corps 
of  able  teachers  ;  to  have  a  three  months'  term  in  the  spring,  and 
another  in  the  winter,  and  let  the  teachers  hold  institutes  in  the 
intervals  in  aay  city  or  town  in  the  State,  having  all  the  work 
planned  for  them  beforehand. 

Another  instrument  which  we  shall  use  there  is  the  press,  and 
also  the  district  library.  We  hope  to  place,  within  two  or  three 
years,  twenty-five  or  thirty  volumes  on  education  within  the  reach 
of  the  teachers  of  the  State.  It  is  a  mournful  fact  that  so  few  pro- 
fessed teachers  have  as  many  as  six  volumes  on  education  in  their 
libraries. 

Mr.  B.  closed  by  impressing  on  teachers  present  the  importance 
of  a  more  intimate  acquaintance  with  educational  literature. 

The  Committee  on  Resolutions  reported  the  following  series, 
which  was  adopted  without  debate. 

Resolved,  That  the  work  of  the  Normal  School  is  peculiar  in  its  character, 
and  that  this  work  can  not  be  performed  by  other  institutions  of  learning,  how- 
ever high  their  rank  or  great  their  excellence. 

Resolved,  That  the  claims  of  the  Normal  School  to  support  and  influence  rest 
upon  this  peculiarity,  and  not  upon  any  depreciation  of  other  institutions  within 
their  appropriate  spheres,  and  that  the  Normal  School  can  not  properly  come 
into  competition  with  any  other  institution. 

Resolved,  That  the  object  of  the  Normal  School  is  strictly  professional,  viz., 
the  direct  preparation  of  teachers  for  their  great  work ;  and  that  it  claims  as 
appropriate  to  itself  all  those  exercises,  theoretical  and  practical,  and  only  those 
which  are  requisite  for  this  preparation. 

Resolved,  That  the  special  work  of  the  Normal  School  is  so  great  that  a  just 
economy  and  proper  division  of  labor  require  that  it  should  perform  as  little 
work  as  possible  that  can  be  rightly  performed. by  other  institutions  ;  and  that 
it  is  therefore  exceedingly  desirable  that  pupils  should  not  be  received  until 
they  have  attained  such  maturity  of  mind  and  amount  of  knowledge  that  they 
can  at  once  enter  profitably  upon  the  proper  professional  course  of  the  school. 

Resolved,  That  while  the  labors  of  the  Normal  School  must  be  chiefly  di- 
rected, for  the  present,  to  the  right  preparation  of  common  school  teachers,  it 
ought  not  to  omit  from  its  plan  the  professional  education  of  teachers  of  any 
grade ;  and  that  it  is  important  that  it  should  extend  and  elevate,  as  rapidly 
as  the  condition  aiid  demands  of  the  community  will  permit,  its  efforts  and  in- 
fluence. 

Resolved,  That  education,  as  based  upon  the  nature  of  man,  and  having  fixed 
principles,  is  truly  and  eminently  a  science  ;  that,  as  having  appropriate 
methods  for  securing  noble  ends,  it  is  no  less  truly  and  eminently  an  art ;  and 


BEMARKS    OF   GEN.    OLIVER.  107 

that  this  science  and  art  can  be  taught  and  learned  no  less  directly  and  effi- 
ciently than  the  other  sciences  and  arts  ;  and  that  therefore  the  direct  profes- 
sional education  of  teachers  is  as  appropriate,  and  certainly  as  important,  as 
that  of  the  members  of  other  professions. 

Resolved,  That  this  education  of  teachers  should  not  only  \^  theoretical,  but 
also  practical ;  and  that,  to  this  end,  there  should  either  be  a  school  of  observa- 
tion and  practice  in  immediate  connection  with  the  Normal  School,  and  under  the 
same  Board  of  Control,  or  that  there  should  be  in  other  ways  equivalent  oppor- 
tunities for  observation  and  practice. 

Resolved,  That  all  educators,  especially  in  the  Normal  School,  should  practi- 
cally, no  less  than  in  theory,  regard  education  as  applying  to  the  whole  nature 
and  constitution  of  man — body,  mind,  and  heart ;  and  that  they  should  espe- 
cially recognize  the  pre-eminent  importance  of  moral  and  religious  education. 

Resolved,  That,  in  behalf  of  the  friends  of  education,  the  thanks  of  this  Asso- 
ciation be  tendered  to  the  Legislature  of  New  Jersey,  to  Paul  Farnum,  Esq.,  of 
Beverly,  and  to  the  citizens  of  Trenton,  for  the  most  liberal  and  magnificent 
endowment  provided  for  the  interests  of  education  by  their  noble  buildings  for 
the  Normal  School  in  this  place  and  Beverly,  and  for  their  kindness  and  liberal- 
ity in  opening  them  for  our  accommodation. 

Gen.  Oliver,  from  the  Committee  on  Resolutions,  with  reference 
to  the  life,  and  labors,  and  death  of  Horace  Mann,  reported  the 
following  : 

Resolved,  That  while  bowing  with  unfeigned  humility  and  submission  to 
this  inscrutable  Providence,  we  can  not  but  mourn,  with  the  deepest  grief,  that 
in  the  midst  of  usefulness,  and  while  earnestly  and  successfully  fulfilling  a 
great  mission,  he  was  called  away  from  his  labors  and  from  the  midst  of  asso- 
ciates who  intensely  realized  and  valued  the  power  of  his  encouragement  and 
support. 

Resolved,  That  as  an  efficient  friend  and  successful  laborer  in  the  cause  of 
education  in  all  its  diversified  manifestations,  especially  in  the  introduction 
and  development  of  the  system  of  Normal  Schools,  he  laid  the  friends  of  the 
cause  under  deep  and  lasting  obligations  ;  and  that  in  lamenting  the  loss  of  so 
valued  a  leader,  they  can  best  evince  their  gratitude  for  his  zeal  and  success  by 
greater  earnestness  and  efficiency  in  the  same  cause  themselves. 

Re-oohed,  That  these  resolutions  be  entered  on  the  records  of  the  Associa- 
tion, and  that  a  copy  be  sent  to  the  family  of  Mr.  Mann,  as  an  expression  of 
our  sympathy  for  the  great  loss  which  they  themselves  and  the  country  have- 
sustained  in  his  death. 

Getj.  H.  K.  Oliver — My  opportunities  of  acquaintance  with  Mr. 
Mann  were  not  so  large  as  those  of  my  friend,  who  has  so  truly  and 
justly  measured  out  the  character  and  life  of  our  deceased  friend. 
But  I  happened  to  be  thrown  into  connection  with  him  in  the  early- 
struggles  in  the  cause  of  education  in  Massachusetts,  and  I  know 
the  discouragements  he  met  with  and  the  indomitable  courage  with 
which  he  overcame  them. 


108  AMERICAN   NORMAL   SCHOOL   CONVENTION. 

The  secret  of  Mr.  Mann's  true  greatness — and  he  was  truly  great 
— lay  in  that  one  thing,  his  unselfishness.  If  it  was  ever  my  for- 
tune to  fall  in  with  a  man  perfectly  unselfish,  it  appears  to  me  that 
Horace  Mann  Was  that  person.  Any  man  who  has  read  the  his- 
tory of  nations  and  men,  knows  that  selfishness  is  the  general  char- 
acteristic. Kings  have  been  selfish  ;  princes,  with  hearts  so  hard, 
that,  like  Othello's,  when  they  struck  it,  it  hurt  their  hand.  Men 
of  prominent,  overshadowing  selfishness  have  marked  the  day  and 
signalized  the  time  in  which  they  lived.  But  not  so  did  he.  Emi- 
nently forgetful  of  himself,  he  labored  for  others.  But  those  men 
with  whom  he  was  connected  are  those  who  get  the  hatred  too 
often  and  too  surely  of  their  fellow.  We  in  Massachusetts  remem- 
ber the  great  struggle  into  which  he  was  compelled  to  enter.  We 
remember  not  only  the  assailants,  but  the  mode  and  manner  of  the 
assault.  Those  of  us  who  refused  then,  though  urged  to  partici- 
pate in  it,  and  assail  Mr.  Mann,  derived  the  benefit  of  our  caution 
and  our  prudence.  We  saw — we  knew  we  saw — the  error  those 
committed  who  were  associated  with  us  as  teachers  in  Massachu- 
setts at  that  time,  and  we  knew  that,  by  continuing  our  labors,  we 
should  secure  to  the  cause  of  education  the  certainty  of  success. 

Sir,  I  came  into  close  relationship  with  Mr.  Mann  during  the 
time  of  that  contest,  and  I  know  {something  of  his  feelings,  some- 
thing of  the  depth  to  which  that  over-sensitive  nature  was  wound- 
ed, and  I  have  never  wondered  that  when  he  struck  out  in  defense 
of  the  cause,  he  struck  blows  that  few  had  the  power  of  withstand- 
ing ;  for  though  he  was  individually  assailed,  't  was  the  cause  that 
he  rose  to  defend,  and  which  he  succeeded  in  defending. 

Now,  that  class  of  men  who  are  unselfish,  only  one  of  whom  has 
exhibited  it  on  earth  in  all  its  purity,  must  expect  to  encounter  ob- 
stacles, and  it  is  no  evidence  of  a  want  of  purity  in  them  that  they 
are  assailed.  I  should  rather  pity  the  man  who  never  had  an 
enemy. 

Akiel  Parish,  Esq.,  of  Springfield — I  do  not  deem  it  necessary 
to  add  a  word  at  this  time,  because  more  should  be  said.  I  believe 
what  has  been  said  has  been  well  said,  and  it  is  all  deserved.  I 
rise  mainly  because  the  eastern  part  of  our  State  has  spoken,  and  I 
do  not  feel  satisfied  to  sit  still  and  have  it  appear  that  no  other  part 
of  the  State  is  interested  in  this  matter. 

Sir,  I   am  here   to-night  because   of  the    influence   of  Horace 


EEMARKS    OF   ME.    PABISH.  109 

Mann.  As  I  look  back  during  the  past  twenty  years,  I  can  trace 
his  influence  in  all  my  course.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  it  is 
wholly  through  his  influence  ;  but  had  he  not  taken  the  course  he 
did,  and  exerted  the  influence  he  did  on  the  cause  of  education  in 
our  State,  my  position  would  have  been  very  diflferent  from  what  it 
is  to-night. 

Nearly  twenty  years  since  I  saw  his  venerable  form  rise  up  in  a 
country  church  where  now  is  planted  one  of  his  institutions,  the 
Normal  School  of  Westfield,  Mass.  I  never  shall  forget  the  im- 
pression he  made  upon  my  mind  ;  never  shall  forget  the  first  stim- 
ulus I  received  from  him  at  that  time,  and  which  was  continued,  as 
I  have  read  his  record  ever  since.  And  as  I  look  down  the  track 
of  time  from  this  day  to  that,  I  see  the  marks  he  has  made,  and 
they  rise  up  before  me  as  the  traces  of  no  other  man  do  rise  up. 

How  long  is  it  since  we  have  seen  our  papers  teeming  with  eulo- 
giums  of  that  truly  great  man,  Rufus  Choate  ?  The  bar  and  other 
associations  have  assembled  and  bestowed  upon  him  all  the  praises 
that  language  could  bestow  ;  yet  I  ask  you  what  Rufus  Choate  has 
done  ?  He  has  done  what  few  men  could  do  in  his  profes.sion  of 
the  law.  He  was  a  great  man  man  by  nature,  and  he  cultivated 
his  nature  to  a  great  extent.  He  went  into  his  profession  with  all 
possible  ardor  ;  he  read,  and  studied,  and  exerted  himself  as  few 
men  ever  did,  and  he  attained  success  that  few  men  did.  But  what 
wa!s  it  1  Why,  he  engaged  in  every  suit  presented  on  one  side  or 
the  other  ;  would  plead  as  powerfully,  probably,  for  the  wrong  as 
for  the  right,  and  thus  went  through  his  life  ;  and  we  may  look 
back  and  ask  for  the  good  he  did.  Perhaps  the  clients  he  defended 
will  answer  for  him,  but  I  am  sure  the  amount  can  never  be  com- 
pared with  that  done  by  Horace  Mann. 

If  I  ever  felt  proud  of  any  one  thing  which  I  was  instrumental  in 
doing,  it  was  the  action  we  had  after  the  contest  with  the  thirty- 
one  masters  in  Boston,  after  which  our  State  Association  was 
formed.  All  'he  power  which  those  masters  could  bring  was  con- 
centrated there,  and  there  was  a  determination  to  meet  Mr.  Mann, 
and  meet  the  Board  of  Education,  and  break  down  the  whole.  I 
saw  it,  and  I  could  not  sympathize  with  my  professional  laborers, 
and,  with  a  few,  1  did  what  little  I  could  to  put  an  end  to  that  whole 
contest ;  and  the  resolutions,  which  are  in  print  and  recorded,  and 
which  ended  that  matter,  I  shall  ever  look  upon  with  the  highest 


110  AMERICAN   NOKMAL    SCHOOL   CONVENTION. 

satisfaction  ;  for  the  moment  those  resolutions  were  passed,  the 
contest  ended  ;  those  who  opposed  Mr.  Mann,  through  the  Board 
of  the  State,  disappeared,  and  few  of  them  have  been  seen  in  the 
Association  since.  There  has  been  ever  since  a  union  between  the 
Board  of  Education  and  the  teachers  of  the  State. 

The  State  of  Massachusetts  may  congratulate  itself  that  it  had 
such  a  man  at  the  head  of  her  educational  plans  at  the  time  he  be- 
gan the  work.  No  other  man  could  have  succeeded  in  waking  up 
such  a  spirit  and  building  up  such  a  system.  1  have  often  thought 
of  him  as  of  the  man  who  goes  West  and  cuts  down  trees  and  digs 
out  the  roots  ;  he  did  it  because  no  other  man  could  do  it.  Dr. 
Sears  came  afterward,  and  he  did  his  work,  and  well,  and  I  can  see 
that  there  seems  to  have  been  a  kind  of  Providential  plan  that  these 
two  men  and  our  present  secretary  were  permitted  to  come  on  in 
their  order,  and  do  the  work  they  are  doing  in  the  State,  But  the 
system  has  flowed  out  into  other  States,  and  has  not  stopped  this 
side  of  the  broad  ocean.  The  more  we  study  the  history  of  educa- 
tion the  more  we  shall  see  of  his  influence  ;  and  whether  the  cause 
of  education  shall  go  down,  we  may  look  upon  one  bright  spot  in  its 
history  connected  with  his  life  ;  and  if  it  rises  higher  than  ever 
before,  we  may  look  to  his  as  the  power  and  lever  by  which  it  has 
been  raised. 

Hon.  Henry  Barnard — I  really  feel  utterly  incompetent  to  utter 
what  I  feel  on  this  occasion.  Four  weeks  ago  I  received  a  letter 
from  Horace  Mann,  inviting  me  to  meet  him  at  this  very  Conven- 
tion ;  and  as  the  time  at  which  the  meeting  was  then  appointed 
would  have  made  it  impossible  for  me  to  attend  here,  I  wrote  to  him 
with  reference  to  my  own  plans,  and  that  wishing  his  advice  and 
direction,  I  would  meet  him  at  any  point  at  any  place  that  he  would 
appoint.  After  I  found  the  time  for  holding  this  meeting  was 
changed,  I  felt  it  one  of  the  pleasures  of  my  vacation  from  my  du- 
ties that  I  should  have  the  privilege  of  meeting  him.  I  can  hardly 
explain  what  a  chasm  seemed  to  open  at  my  feet  when  I  read  th 
paragraph  giving  notice  of  his  death. 

The  whole  battle  of  Normal  School  instruction  was  fought  in 
Massachusetts  over  his  person.  It  was  the  triumph  that  made  suc- 
cess sure  in  the  Normal  School  enterprise  ever  afterward.  There- 
fore, it  seems  to  me,  that  to  come  into  such  an  audience  as  this  and 
speak  his  praise,  is  but  a  waste  of  words.     Although  it  was  inti- 


REMARKS    OF   MR.    SMYTH.  Ill 

mated  to  me  that  I  should  say  something,  I  felt  that  after  the  touch- 
ing eloquence  of  the  words  of  Dr.  Emerson,  silence  was  more 
becoming  than  any  words  of  ours. 

I  have  only  to  add,  that  I  think  the  great  service  of  Mr.  Mann 
was  the  entire  consecration  of  himself  to  this  work  and  the  giving 
of  his  reports  to  the  cause  of  education.  Although  many  of  the 
facts  and  ideas  had  been  touched  upon  before,  it  was  his  reports  and 
lectures  that  brought  education  literally  up  into  the  consideration  of 
the  educated  men  of  this  country.  All  that  had  been  written  for 
twenty-five  years  before  did  not  produce  so  much  influence  as  one 
of  his  lectures  published  and  disseminated  over  the  country.  It 
brought  the  subject  up  into  the  domain  of  the  Press,  and  that  great 
living  voice,  the  Lyceums. 

But  I  feel  now  that  any  further  words  would  wedken  the  eflfect 
they  are  calculated  to  produce. 

Hon.  Anson  Smyth,  of  Ohio — I  did  not  come  here  to  say  any- 
thing respecting  Mr.  Mann.  I  feel  that  I  stand  among  men  who 
knew  him  long  years  before  I  did ;  and  yet,  as  I  come  from  the 
place,  this  week,  where  his  new-made  grave  is,  and  from  the  fact 
that  his  last  labors  were  with  us,  it  seems  appropriate  that  some- 
thing should  be  said  by  an  Ohio  man,  that  you  may  know  that  we 
are  in  sympathy  with  you  and  the  whole  country  in  mourning  the 
death  of  Mr.  Mann. 

His  labors  in  Ohio  were  not  of  a  kind  to  interest  us  so  much  as 
his  labors  at  the  East.  His  labor  there  was  in  one  particular  insti- 
tution, and  we  have  so  many  colleges,  so  many  more  than  we  ought 
to  have,  that  the  great  mass  of  our  people  felt  little  interest  in  his 
special  work  there.  But  he  was  known  outside  of  his  particular 
duties  as  connected  with  Antioch  College.  He  immediately  asso- 
ciated himself  with  the  teachers  of  the  State,  and  although  a  much 
older  man,  and  much  wiser,  than  those  whom  he  usually  met  in  our 
associations  and  institutes,  he  came  with  us,  putting  himself  on  a 
level  with  us,  discussing  the  questions  of  common  interest  in  our 
Association.  We  were  always  happy  to  see  him,  and  felt  instructed 
by  him  ;  for  although  he  sometimes  gave  utterance  to  sentiments  in 
regard  to  education  which  perhaps  all  did  not  agree  with,  we  all  loved 
to  meet  him.  And  I  must  say,  that  although  on  many  points  I  could 
not  agree  with  him  particularly,  I  loved  him — I  loved  to  be  with  him. 

The  last  time  he  came  to  Columbus  he  came  to  attend  our  State 


112  AMERICAN   NORMAL    SCHOOL   CONVENTION. 

Association,  and  he  went  with  me  to  dine.  He  came  there  in  his 
usual  health  and  took  a  part  in  our  deliberations.  The  next  that  I 
heard  of  him  was  that  he  was  very  ill,  and  the  next  morning  that  he 
was  dead. 

And  so  I  wish  to  say  to  you  who  knew  him  longer  and  better  than 
we,  that  we  are  in  sympathy  with  you. 

There  were  some  of  us  who  felt  a  particular  interest  in  him,  and 
especially  with  reference  to  his  influence  with  regard  to  certain 
vices,  such  as  the  use  of  stimulants,  alcoholic  drinks,  and  that  per- 
haps more  common  vice,  the  use  of  tobacco,  on  the  part  of  those 
who  assume  the  office  of  teacher,  and  who  ought  to  be  examples 
of  purity,  and  propriety,  and  respectability.  There  was  a  keenness 
of  wit  when  he  spoke  which  presented  any  vice  or  weakness  which 
he  wished  to  put  down  in  such  a  light  that  it  had  a  powerful  influ- 
ence. There  were  few  teachers  who  would  like  to  go  from  one  of 
our  Associations  and  be  seen  by  him  with  a  cigar  in  the  mouth. 
And  if  he  had  lived  to  no  other  purpose  than  to  say  all  he  did  be- 
fore our  Associations  upon  that  particular  vice,  I  should  say  we 
would  build  him  a  monument  as  high  as  that  on  Bunker  Hill. 

The  President — Perhaps  we  can  not  better  conclude  these  re- 
marks than  by  permitting  Mr.  Mann  to  speak  for  himself.  I  have  a 
letter  which  I  received  from  him  but  a  short  time  since,  which  I 
will  read. 

Antioch  College,  Yellow  Springs,  April  2Sth,  1859. 

Wm.  F.  Phelps,  Esq. :  Dear  Sir — Hardly  anything  would  give  me  more 
pleasure  than  to  accept  your  kind  invitation,  b}--  means  of  which  I  should 
expect  to  find  myself  once  more  in  the  presence  of  my  old  fellow-teachers. 

Common  Schools  were  my  first  love;  they  will  be  my  last.  But  I 
know  not  what  my  plans  will  be  for  the  summer.  I  must  recruit  my 
health.  I  am  abolished  by  hard  labor.  I  am  a  white  slave  without  any 
abolitionist  to  pity  me.  If,  however,  it  shall  be  possible  for  me  to  join 
the  "  Legion  of  Honor"  once  more,  though  it  shall  be  but  for  a  single 
day,  I  shall  rejoice  to  do  so.  How  vividly  do  I  remember  the  time  when 
this  cause  emitted  its  first  glimmering,  twilight  ray  !  now  its  glorious  orb 
is  ascending  toward  the  meridian.  When  the  day  for  the  meeting  is 
fixed  upon,  please  send  me  a  circular,  and  oblige, 

Yours  very  truly, 

Horace  Mann. 

The  resolutions  in  relation  to  Mr.  Mann  were  adopted  by  a  vote 
taken  by  rising  and  standing  a  few  moments  in  silence. 


ADJOTJRNMENT.  113 

The  following  resolutions  were  adopted  : 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  Association  are  due,  and  are  hereby  pre- 
sented— 

To  those  citizens  of  Trenton  who  have  kindly  extended  the  hospitalities  of 
their  homes  to  the  ladies  attending  the  Convention ; 

To  C.  C.  Haven,  Esq.,  for  his  highly  interesting  and  methodical  explanation, 
upon  the  ground  itself,  of  the  Battle  of  Trenton — Dec.  26,  1776  ; 

To  the  Hon.  Mr.  Field,  of  Princeton,  for  his  kind  attention  to  the  members 
of  the  Convention  in  his  invitation  to  visit  the  literary  institutions  of  Princeton 
and  its  battle-ground,  and  to  partake  of  the  hospitalities  of  his  house ; 

To  the  keepers  of  the  hotels,  for  a  reduction  in  the  usual  charge  for  board ; 

To  the  managers  of  the  railroads  leading  to  Trenton,  for  a  reduction  in  the 
usual  fare ; 

To  the  committee  of  arrangements,  for  their  labor  in  making  arrangements 
for  our  meetings ; 

And  lastly,  to  the  President  of  the  Association,  for  the  impartial  and  able 
manner  in  which  he  has  presided  over  our  deliberations. 

Adjourned  sine  die. 


ynv-TT  ynrnn- 


5 

PLANS  AND  DESCRIPTION 

OF 


STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL,  SALEM. 


Teib  building  for  the  State  Normal  School  at  Salem,  Mass.,  was  erected  in 
1854.  It  is  of  brick,  sixty-seven  feet  square,  and  two  stories  high.  The  I^st 
Story  contains  :  I,  an  Entrance  Hall ;  D,  a  Long  Passage ;  A,  Lecture  Koom  ; 
B,  Room  for  Philosophical  Apparatus ;  C,  Eecitation  Room  ;  G,  Cabinet  of 
Natural  History  ;  H,  Library ;  J,  L,  Clothes  and  Dressing  Rooms ;  K,  Recep- 
tion Room ;  E,  E,  E,  E,  Closets  ;  F,  F,  Passages  to  Cellar  and  Water-Closets  ; 
V,  Water  Tank.  The  Second  Story  contains  :  M,  School-Room ;  N,  0,  S,  T, 
Recitation  Rooms ;  Q,  Room  for  Books  of  Reference  ;  R,  Teacher's  Room  \ 
P^  P,  P,  P,  Passages  for  Lower  Story. 


6Z 


Plans  and  DEScRirnoN  of  thk  State  Xormal  School  of  New  jEasEr. 

Tlie  buildings  occupied  by  the  State  Normal  School  of  New  Jersey,  are  two  in 
number,  one  of  which  is  occupied  exclusively  by  the  Normal  School  proper,  and 
the  other  by  both  the  Normal  School  and  its  adjunct,  the  Model  School,  but  princi- 
pally by  the  latter.      The  two  were  built  and  furnished  at  about  $55,000. 

The  plans  are  drawn  on  a  scale  of  thirty-two  feet  to  the  inch.  Each  building 
is  in  the  form  of  a  Greek  Cross,  the  main  edifice  running  nearly  north  and  south 
with  wings  or  projections  on  the  east  and  west.  The  front  wing  of  the  Normal 
School  on  the  east,  terminates  in  two  towers,  10  by  10  feet. 

The  great  objects  secured  in  the  adoption  of  these  plans,  are  the  highest  degree 
of  convenience  and  adaptation  to  the  purposes  of  a  school  for  both  sexes,  symme- 
try, tastefulness,  economy  in  cost  of  construction,  with  ample  facilities  for  lighting 
and  ventilation,  the  ingress  and  egress  of  pupils,  together  with  a  full  supply  of 
water  in  the  proper  place,  and  for  every  desirable  purpose. 

The  rooms  are  all  large,  airy,  and  commodious.  The  uses  of  each  apartment 
will  be  understood  by  reference  to  the  numbers  indicated  on  the  diagrams,  and 
the  accompanying  explanation.  Each  building  is  heated  by  four  of  Boynton's 
first  class  furnaces,  and  ventilated  by  means  of  air  passages  leading  from  each 
room  to  a  large  chamber  for  the  purpose  in  the  attic,  under  the  ventilator.  These 
air  chambers  are  heated  by  stoves,  thus  creating  a  forced  draught  from  each  apart- 
ment to  the  ventilator. 

The  furniture  is  of  the  latest  and  most  approved  character,  and  there  are  fifteen 
hundred  feet  of  the  best  Vermont  and  Lehigh  wall  slates. 


Fig.  2.— First  Story. 


1,  Main  entrance  and  Hall,  2,  2,  Cloak  Rooms  for  each  sex.  3,  3,  Toilet 
Rooms  ibr  each  sex.  4,  5,  Halls  and  entrances.  6,  6,  6,  and  7,  7,  7,  Recitation 
Rooms.     8,  &,  Extra  Cloak  Rooms.     9,  9,  Privies.     10,  10,  Halls  for  each  sex. 


3.    SficOKD  Story. 


11,  Reception  Room.  12,  Library.  13,  14,  Teachers'  Toilet  Rooms.  15, 
16,  Halls  and  Stairways,  each  sex.  17,  Assembly  Room  seated  for  240.  18,18, 
Recitation  Rooms.     19,  19,  Extra  Cloak  Rooms.     20,  20,  Privies. 


Fig.  4.    Third  Story. 


21,  22,  Drawing  Room  and  Models.  23,  Bell  Ringer's  Room.  24,  Passage 
to  Observatory.  25,  Lecture  Room.  26,  Recitation  Room.  27,  Room  for 
Mechanical  Drawing.     28,  28,  Rear  Halls.     29,  30,  Apparatus  Rooms. 


Fig.  5.     Basement  of  Model  School. 


■  ■ 


■  I 


1,  2,  Privies  for  Girls.     3,  Halls  to  Privies  for  Girls.     4,  5,  6,  &c.,  &c., 
Cellars  and  Furnaces.     13,  14,  Privies  for  Boys.     12,  Halls  to  Privies  for  Boys. 


Fig.  6.    First  Story.— Model  School. 


15,  Halls,  Girls'  entrance,  and  main  entrance.  16,  17,  Girls' Cloak  Rooms. 
18,  19,  20,  21,  22,  23,  School.  24,  Hall,  rooms  graded,  40  pupils  each.  25, 
Boys'  Hall.     26,  27,  Boys'  Cloak  Rooms. 


Fig.  7.    Second  Story.— Model  School. 


28,  Girls'  Cloak  Room.  29,  Library.  30,  Girls'  Hall  and  Stairways.  31, 
32,  33,  &c.,  &c.,  School  Rooms,  graded,  40  pupils  each.  37,  Hall.  38,  Boys' 
Hall  and  Stairways      39,  40,  Boys'  Cloak  Rooms. 


Fig.  8.    Third  Story.— Model  School. 


41,  Room  for  Drawing,  lighted  from  the  Dome.  42,  Hall  and  Stairways. 
43,  Great  Lecture  Room  of  the  Normal  School  establishment,  56  by  75  feet.  44, 
Hall.     45,  Laboratory. 


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RECOMMENDATIONS 

OP 

PARKER  &  WATSON^S  READERS. 


From  Prof.  Frederick  S.  Jkwei.l,  o/the  J^eio  York  State  Normal  Sc7iool. 
It  trives  me  pleasure  to  find  1n  the  National  Series  of  School  Headers  ample  room 
for  commendation.     From  a  brief  examination  of  them,  I  am  led  to  believe  tiiat  we 
havo  none  equal  to  them.    I  hope  they  will  prove  as  popular  as  thoy  are  excellent. 

From  Hon.  Theodork  Fkklinoiiuyskn,  President  of  Rutgers'  CoUege,  N.  J. 
A  cursory  e?:ainination  lead.s  me  to  the  conclusion  that  the  system  contained  in 
these  volumes  de.'^erve*  the  patronage  of  our  schools,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  it  will 
become  extensively  used  in  the  education  of  children  andyouth. 

Fram  N.  A.  Hamilton,  Preaident  of  Teachers'  Vnio7i,  Whitewater,  Wis. 

The  National  Readers  and  Speller  I  have  examined,  and  carefully  compared  with 

others,  and  must  [)ronoun<'e  .them  decidedly  superior,  in  respect  to  literary  merit, 

style,  and  pri.  e.    The  gradation  is  more  complete,  and  the  series  much  more  desirable 

for  use  in  our  schools  than  Sanders'  or  McGuffey's. 

From  Prof.  T.  F.  Thickstun,  Principal  of  Academxj  and  Normal.  ScJiool, 
Meadville,  Pa. 
1  am  much  p'eased  with  the  National  Series  of  Readers  after  having  canvassed 
their  merits  pretty  thorouglily.  The  first  of  tlie  series  especially  pleases  me,  because 
it  affords  the  mt-ans  of  teaching  the  '••word-method'''  in  an  approj)riate  and  natural 
manner.  Tliey  all  are  progressive,  th.e  rules  of  elocution  are  stated  with  clearness, 
and  the  selection  of  pieces  is  such  as  to  please  at  the  same  time  that  they  instruct. 

From  J.  W.  ScHERMERnoRN,  A.  B.,  Principal  Coll.  Institute,  Middletown,  N.  J. 
I  consider  them  emphatically  the  Readers  of  the  present  day,  and  I  believe  that 
their  intrinsic  merits  will  insure  for  them  a  full  measure  of  popularity. 

From  Pkter  Roitget,  Principal  Public  School  No.  10,  Brooklyn, 
It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to.be  able  to  bear  my  unqualified  testimony  to  the  excel- 
lence of  the  National  Series  of  Readers,  by  Parker  and  Watson.  The  gradation  of 
the  books  of  the  series  is  very  fine  ;  we  have  reading  in  its  elements  and  in  its  highest 
style.  The  fine  taste  displayed  in  the  selections  and  in  the  collocation  of  the  pieces 
deserves  much  praise.  A  distinguishing  feature  of  the  series  is  the  variety  <)f  the 
subject-matter  and  of  the  style.  The  practical  teacher  knows  the  value  of  this  chanic- 
teristic  for  the  development  of  the  voice.  The  authors  seem  to  have  kept  constantly 
in  view  the  fact  that  a  reading-book  is  designed  for  children,  and  iherefoie  they  have 
succeeded  in  forming  a  very  interesting  and  improving  collection  of  reading-matter, 
highly  adapted  to  the  wants  and  purposes  of  the  school-room.  In  short,  I  look  upon 
the  National  Series  of  Readers  as  a  great  success. 

From  A.  P.  Harrington,  Principal  of  Union  School,  Marathon,  N.  Y. 
These  Readers,  in  my  oi)inion,  are  the  best  I  have  ever  examined.  The  rhetorical 
exercises,  in  particular,  are  superior  to  any  thing  of  the  kind  1  have  pver  seen.  I  have 
had  better  success  with  my  reading  classes  .since  I  commenced  training  them  on  these, 
than  I  ever  met  with  before.  The  marked  vowels  in  the  reading  exercises  convey  to 
the  reader's  mind  at  once  the  astonishing  fact  that  he  has  been  accustomed  to  mispro- 
nounce more  than  one-third  of  the  words  of  the  English  language. 

From  Charles  S.  Halsey,  Principal  Collegiate  Institute,  Newtmi,  N.  J. 
In  the  simplicity  and  clearness  with  which  the  principles  are  stated,  in  the  appro- 
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parts  of  the  series  to  each  other,  these  works  are  superior  to  any  other  text-books  on 
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From  William  Travis,  Principal  of  Union  School,  Flint,  Mich. 
I  have  exHiiiined  the  National  Scries  of  Readers,  and  am  delighted  to  find  it  so  far 
in  iidvance  of  most  other  series  now  in  use,  and  so  well  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the 
Public  Schools.  It  is  uneqnale<i  in  the  skillful  arrangement  of  the  material  used, 
beautiful  typography,  and  the  general  neat  and  inviting  appearance  of  its  several 
books  I  predict  for  it  a  cordial  wnlcome  and  »  general  introduction  by  many  of  our  '/Mk 
most  enterprising  teachers.  |0< 


■■-m, 


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WELCH' S  ANALYSIS  OF  THE  ENGLISH  SENTENCE 0  76 

A  more  Advanced  Work,  designed  for  Iligber  Classes  in  Academies  and  Normal 
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The  First  Lessons  in  Grammar  are  prepared  for  young  pupils,  and  as  an 
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lege, aad  has  met  with  deserved  success. 

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Monteith's  First  Lessons  in  Geography— Introduction  to  Man- 
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These  Geogi-aphies  are  used  more  extensively  In  the  Public  Schools  of  Nevsr  York, 
Brooklyn,  and  Newark,  than  all  others. 

yW°  A.  B.  Clark,  Principal  of  one  of  the  largest  Public  Schools  in  Brooklyn,  says  : 
"  I  have  used  over  a  thousand  copies  of  Monteith's  Manual  of  Geography  since  its 
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junior  and  intermediate  classes  in  our  schools  I  have  ever  seen." 


TJie  Series,  in  whole  or 

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in  part,  has  been  adopted  in  the 

Public  Sclnxds  of  New  York. 
Public  Schools  of  Brooklyn,  L.  I. 
Public  Schools  of  New  Haven. 
Public  Schools  of  Toledo,  Ohio. 
Public  Schools  of  Norwalk,  Conn. 
Public  Sciiools  of  Richmond,  Va. 
Public  Schools  of  Madison,  Wis. 
Public  Schools  of  Indianapolis. 
Public  Schools  of  Springfield,  Mass. 
Public  Sciiools  of  Columbus,  Ohio. 
Public  Schools  of  Hartford.  Conn. 
Public  Schools  of  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

And  other  places  too  numerous  to 
mention. 


They  have  also  been  recommended  by  the  State  Superintendents  of  iLLiNOia, 
Indiana,  Wisconsin,  Missouri,  Nortu  Carolina,  Alabama,  and  by  numerous 
Teachers'  Associations  and  Institutes  throughout  the  country,  and  are  in  successful 
use  in  a  multitude  of  Public  and  Private  Schools  throughout  the  United  States. 


A.  S.  BARNES  &  BURR,  Publishers,  jj. 

51  &  53  John  Street,  New  York.    |^ 


I 


\>^ 


^   NATIONAL  SERIES  OF  STANDARD  SCHOOL-BOOKS 

\timt,  f  ogic,  aitir  |itttllcctiml  ^pijilosopf^i). 

ELEMENTS  OF  THE  AKT  OF  RHETORIC.     Adapted  for  use  in  Colleges  and 

Academiee,  and  also  for  Private  Study.    By  Heney  N.  Day,  President  of  Ohio 

Female  College Price  75  cents. 

It  is  a  clear  and  systematic  exhibition  of  the  elements  of  the  Art  of  Khetoric.  Tlie 
prominent  ciiarac.teristics  of  his  work  are,  the  general  exactness  of  his  definitions, 
the  clear  limitation  of  his  subject,  the  philosophic  development  of  it,  the  large  shaie 
of  attention  which  he  gives  to  Invention  as  a  branch  ot  Rhetoric,  and  his  Analysis 
of  Style. 

THE  SCIENCE  OF  LOGIC;  or.  An  Analysis  of  the  Laws  of  Thought. 
By  Rev.  Asa  Mahan.     Designed  for  Colleges Price  $1.50 

From  the  Banner  of  the  Cross  {Philadelphia). 
"Taken  as  a  whole,  it  forms  the  most  full  and  complete  text-book  with  which  we 
are  acquainted,  and  is  destined  to  render  good  service  to  a  study  which  cannot  be 
safely  omitted  in  the  culture  and  education  of  any  people." 

From  the  Neic  York  Independent. 
"  Few  men  better  understand  the  laws  of  thought,  both  in  the  way  of  mental  analy- 
sis and  of  practical  application,  than  the  author  of  this  treatise.  .  .  .  After  many 
years  of  patient  study  and  large  t-xperience  as  a  teacher.  Dr.  Mahan  brings  forth  in 
this  volume  a  System  of  Logic  which  has  the  merits  of  being  intelligible  and  self- 
consistent,  an(i  which,  in  addition  to  the  author's  carefully  elaborated  views,  embraces 
the  results  of  the  ablest  minds  of  Great  Britain,  Germany,  an<l  France,  in  tlie  same 
department.  We  have  not  yet  found  leisure  to  study  the  work  with  sutticient  care  to 
pronounce  a  inatared  opinion  as  to  its  terms  and  method.  But  as  a  text-book  for 
Colleges,  It  will  probably  take  precedence  of  any  now  before  the  public:  for,  with  a 
text-book  in  which  the  views  of  the  author  are  so  clearly  and  sharply  defined  and  so 
vigorously  maintained,  an  intelligent  teacher  cannot  foil  to  have  a  wakeful  class,  capa- 
ble of  ajipreciating  his  own  criticisms  upon  that  author." 

KAMES'   ELEMENTS   OF   CRITICISM.     With  Additions  and  Improvements. 

By  Rev.  Jamks  R.  Boyd Price  $1.25 

The  chief  points  of  superiority  claimed  for  the  present  edition  are  the  following: 

1.  The  matter  heretofore  contained  in  an  Appendix  has  been  brought  forward,  and 
forms  the  first  part  of  the  Introduction. 

2.  Frequent  omissions  have  been  made  in  the  text  and  notes,  where  the  matter  was 
found  to  be  either  obsolete,  of  no  utility,  or  objectionable  on  account  of  its  indelicacy. 

3.  Many  poetical  quotations  (parlicudarly  some  of  those  in  foreign  languages),  that 
seemed  to  be  an  incumbrance  rather  than  an  advantage  to  the  work  for  purposes  of 
education,  have  been  abbreviated  or  omitted. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  present  volume  is  not  an  abridgment  of  Kames,  but  it  em- 
braces the  entire  work,  with  the  exception  only  of  those  portions  which  every  in- 
structor and  intelligent  reader  must  regard  as  blemishes,  or  consider  useless  ;  while 
large  additions  have  been  made,  from  recent  and  valuable  sources,  to  render  more 
complete  and  satisfactory  the  incomparable  treatise  (as  here  presented)  of  this  highly- 
talented  and  justly  distinguished  and  popular  author. 

Numerous  additions,  of  great  value,  have  be^n  added  to  the  original  work;  and  in 
scarcely  a  less  degree,  by  striking  from  it  a  large  amount  of  matter  that  greatly  im- 
pairs its  excellence  and  usefulness. 

A    SYSTEM    OF   INTELLECTUAL   PHILOSOPHY.     By  Rev.  Asa  Mauan. 

Price  $1.00. 

From  Prof,  Hokacr  Wkkster,  LL.D.,  of  the  Free  Academy.  Next)  York. 

"I  do  not  know  any  other  treatise  on  Elementary  Philosophy  so  well  calculated  to 

give  a  thorough,  correct,  and  critical  knowledge  of  this  important  science,     I  trust 

that  it  may  be  the  means  of  creating  a  taste  for  this  science,  as  it  certainly  will  be,  if 

studied,  of  givintr  a  high  idea  of  its  importance  iu  relation  to  all  other  departinents 

of  human  investigation." 

A.  S.  BARNES  &  BTJRR,  PuDlishers, 

51  &  53  John  Street,  New  York. 


NATIONAL  SERIES  OF  STANDARD  SCHOOL-BOOKS. 


SPELLING  AND  DEFINING, 

THE  JUVENILE  DEFINER:  A  Collection  and  Classification  of  Familiar 
Words  and  Names,  correctly  Spelled,  Accented,  and  Defined.  By  W.  W.  Suith, 
PriiK-ipal  of  Giammar  Scho()l  No.  1,  New  York.     Price  30  cts. 

This  is  an  invaluable  book  for  young  children  :  instead  of  long  columns  of  to  them 
incomprehensible  and  meaningless  words,  the  lessons  are  formed  of  those  words  which 
thoy  hear  and  use  almost  every  day,  but  of  which  they  have  formed  only  imperfect 
Ideas.  The  words  are  grouped  wiib  reference  to  similar  signification  or  use — as  the 
several  kinds  of  Buildings  compose  one  class; — the  kinds  of  Vesskls  another;— 
Vkiiiclf.8  another; — Cloths  another,  &c.,  Ac. ;  experience  having  shown  that  the 
knowledge  of  one  word  of  a  cla>s  pioiUices  in  the  pupil  a  strong  desire  to  know  all 
belonging  to  that  class,  with  thtir  various  shades  of  meaning,  application,  Ac.  The 
principal' words  used  in  the  definitions  are  also  defined,  and  the  arrangement  is  such 
that  almost  every  word  in  the  book  is  defined  at  the  time  or  before  itsemployment. 

THE  GRAMMAR-SCHOOL  SPELLER;   or,  SPELLER'S  NEW  MANUAL. 

Containing  Rules  for  Spelling,  with  numerous  Examples  to  illustrate  Mie  Appli- 
caiion  of  each  Rule;  together  with  a  large  Collection  of  the  most  Difficult  Words 
in  the  English  Language,  correctly  Spelled,  Pronounced,  and  Defined.  Arranged 
in  Ea.sy  Lessons  for  Intermediate  Classes.    Price  40  cts. 

This  book  is  designed  for  those  pupils  who  have  studied  through  the  Juvknilk 
Definkk.  The  Rules  for  Spelling  are  in  simple  language,  having  numerous  exa!iiples 
of  familiar  words  attached  to  illustrate  the  intent  of  each.  These  Rules  teach  the 
formation  of  the  great  majority  of  the  derivatives,  and  consequently  embrace  the 
greater  |)ortion  of  the  words  of  the  language. 

T'  e  lessons  consist  of  words  grouped  with  reference  to  the  sameness  of  sound  of 
certain  syllables  differently  spelled  ;  as  authorize,  e^.ercise,  analyze,  mcHfice — the 
pronunciation  of  each  of  these  terminations  has  in  it  the  sound  of  ize,  though  ex- 

i)resse(l  by  a  different  combination  of  letters.  Again  :  burfou\  borough,  hergaviot, 
umrgeois.  hirelten,  have  tiie  sound  oi  bur  in  the^rtrst  syllable  of  each,  while  each  is 
Sfielled  differently:  the  same  may  be  said  iA'  chri/sali.%  crispy.  Christian,  crystal— 
all  commencing  with  the  sound  of  A  vis — and  many  others. 

The  words  of  the  lessons  have  also  the  pronunciation  {in  italics),  and  a  short 
definition  of  each  attached— the  whole  comprising  the  most  difficult  words  in  the 
language.  To  which  are  added  copious  Exercises  in  False  Orthography- the  words 
to  be  written  correctly  by  the  pupil.     It  can  also  be  used  as  a  dictation  exercise. 

THE  SPELLER  AND  DEFINER'S  MANUAL ;  Being  a  DICTIONARY  and 
SPELLING-BOOK  combined,  in  which  the  most  Useful  Words  in  the  English 
Language  are  Spelled,  Pronounced,  and  Defined,  and  arranged  in  Clas.ses;  to- 
gether with  Rules  for  Spelling,  Prefixes  and  Suffixes,  Rules  for  the  Use  of  Capi- 
tals, Punctuation  Marks,  Quotations  from  other  Languages  used  in  English  Com- 
position, Abbreviations,  &c.,  &c.  To  which  is  added  a  Vocabulary  of  Reference. 
Price  60  cts. 

In  this  ])Ook.  designed  for  the  highest  class,  we  have,  1st,  A  dissertation  on  the 
sounds  of  the  Vowels  and  Consonants^  their  uses  and  powers.  2d,  Rules  for  Spelling. 
3d,  Prefixes  and  Suffixes,  with  their  meanings.  4th,  Punctuation  marks,  and  how  to 
use  them — Rules  for  the  use  of  Capitals,  Rules  for  Letter  and  Note  writing,  with 
diagrams,  &c.  In  the  body  of  the  work  there  are  about  14,000  of  the  principal  words 
in  the  language— arranged  in  classes  according  to  their  derivation,— correctly  spelled, 
pronounced,  and  defined — the  pronunciation  having  the  vowel  sounds  marked  by 
figures  wliich  refer  to  a  Key  easily  understood  and  applied.  By  this  arrangement, 
the  knowledge  of  one  word  of  a  class  will  give  some  idea  of  the  others. 

There  are  also  Questions  at  the  bottom  of  each  page,  which,  to  be  correctly  an- 
swered, require  the  pupil  to  keep  constantly  in  his  mind  the  Rules  for  Spelling,  their 
application.  &c. 

This  book  can  also  be  used  with  great  advantage  as  a  Dictionary.  As  the  words 
are  not  in  al[)habetical  order  for  obvious  reasons,  an  alphabetical  Vocabulary  is  placed 
at  the  eai,  by  which  means  any  word  in  the  book  can  be  found. 

A.  S.  BARNES  &  BURR,  Publishers, 

61  &  53  John  Street,  New  York. 


NATIONAL  SERIES  OF  STANDARD  SCHOOL-?OOKS. 

ORTHOGRAPHY. 

The  following  Works  upon  tho  Art  of  Spelling,  Pkonunciation,  and  Defining,  are 
especially  commended  to  Teachers. 

NATIONAL  SERIES  OF  SCHOOL  SPELLERS. 

PARKER  &  WATSON'S  NATIONAL  ELEMENTARY  SPELLER  .. .  15  eta. 
PARKER  &  WATSON'S  NATIONAL  PRONOUNCING  SPELLER... 25  cts. 

From  M.  K.  Barnakd,  Principal  Union  School,  Ithaca,  New  Yoi^k. 

"I  iiave  examined  the  National  Pronouncing  Spkllke,  and  am  free  to  say  that 
it  is  the  only  work  I  ever  saw  which  exactly  meets  my  idea  of  what  a  spelling-book 
should  be.  It  is  pre-enunently  practical;  it  requires  the  child  to  do  what  it  will  be 
necessary  for  him  to  do  ail  througli  his  life;  it  requires  iiiin  not  only  to  tell  how  the 
letters  are  Jirranged  to  form  the  word,  but  to  write  it,  using  it  according  to  its  signifi- 
cation.    It  needs  only  to  be  seen  and  understood  to  meet  with  favor." 

The  above  Works  are  designed  to  accompany  Parker  &  Watson's  popular  Series 
of  National  School  Readkes. 

SMITH'S  ORTHOGRAPHICAL  SERIES. 

SMITH'S  JUVENILE  DEFINER 25  cts. 

SMITH'S  GRAMMAR-SCHOOL  SPELLER 40  cts. 

SMITH'S  DEFINER' S  MANUAL 60  cts. 

This  series  of  Books  is  prepared  by  W.  W.  Smith,  Principal  of  Grammar  School 
No.  1,  New  York  city,  and  extensively  used  in  all  the  Public  Schools  of  tho  city. 

Public  attention  is  now  being  extensively  called  to  the  deficiency  of  good  text- 
books, upon  this  hitherto  much  neglected  branch  of  education.  This  series  is  admira- 
bly adapted  to  meet  this  want.    It  is  a  complete  treatise  upon  orthography. 

WRIGHT  S  ANALYTICAL  ORTHOGRAPHY 25  cts. 

The  title  of  this  Work  is — '•  Elements  of  the  English  Language ;  or,  Analytical 
Ortho'graphy.  Designed  to  teach  the  Philosophy  of  Orthography  and  Orthoepy. 
By  Albert  D.  Wright,  A.  M." 

Extract  from  Proceedings  of  Broome  County  Association. 
"A  pupil  will  learn  more  of  the  power  of  Letters  by  studying  this  book  for  one 
term,  in  connection  with  his  otlier  studies,  than  he  would  in  pursuing  the  course  laid 
down  in  most  other  Spelling-Books  for  years." 


PAGE'S  NORMAL  CHART  OF  ELEMENTARY  SOUNDS $2.50 

(Mounted  tipox  Roller.) 

No  School -room  is  complete  without  this  Chart,  prepared  by  D.  P.  Page,  late 
Principal  of  New  York  State  Normal  School. 

"This  Chart  is  designed  to  aid  the  Teacher  in  giving  to  his  pupils  the  true  Ele- 
mentary Sounds  of  our  language,  without  a  knowledgeof  which  it  is  obviously  im- 
p<»ssible  f<>r  any  one  to  become  a  good  reader.  In  our  opinion,  most  of  the  poor 
reading  which  we  listen  to  in  our  public  assemblies  arises  from  inattention  to  the  first 
principles  of  the  language. 

"Where  the  child  i.s  made  to  thoroughly  understand  all  the  elementary  sounds  of 
the  various  words  used,  he  cannot  fail  of  becoming  an  accurate  and  pleasing  reader. 
We  have  witnessed  th.e  great  advantages  of  this  method  of  teaching  reading  in  our 
Normal  School,  and  therefore  feel  that  we  have  a  rigiit  to  speak  strongly"  on  this 
YiomV— Albany  Evening  Journal. 

A.  S.  BARNES  &  BURR,  Publishers, 

51  «&  53  John  Street,  New  York.  |l 


NATIONAL  SERIES  OF  STANDARD  SCHOOL-BOOKS. 

HISTORY  AND  MYTHOLOGY. 

MONTEITirS   CHILD'S  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.     Price  $0  50 
(Designed  for  Public  Schools:  copiously  illustrated.) 

WILLAED'S   SCHOOL   HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES 0  7.5 

(With  Mai's  and  Engravings.) 

WILLARD'S   LARGE   HISTORY   OF  THE   UNITED   STATES 150 

(With  Mai'S  and  Engravings.) 

WILLAED'S   HISTORY  OF  THE   UNITED   STATES 2  00 

(In  Spanish  Language.) 

WILLAED'S  UNIVERSAL  HISTORY  IN  PERSPECTIVE 1  50 

(With  Maps  and  Engravings.) 

EICOED'S  ROMAN  HISTOEY 1  00 

(With  Engravings.) 

DWIGHT'S  GRECIAN  AND  ROMAN  MYTHOLOGY 0  75 

(School  Edition.)  • 

DWIGHT'S  GRECIAN  AND  ROMAN  MYTHOLOGY ...     .    1  50 

(University  Edition.) 

MILLS'  HISTORY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  HEBREWS 0  75 


Monteith's  History  of  the  United  States  is  designed  for  jonng  scholars, 
on  tlie  catechetical  plan,  with  Maps  and  Engravings.  It  has  also  Biographical 
Sketches  of  the  most  prominent  men  in  early  history. 

"Willard's  Histories  are  nsed  in  a  large  proportion  of  the  High  Schools, 
Academies,  and  Female  Seminaries  throughout  the  United  States,  and  have  been 
recommended  by  several  State  Superintendents.  The  History  of  tlie  United  States 
is  so  highly  esteemed,  as  accurate,  reliable,  and  complete,  that  it  has  been  translated, 
and  published  in  the  German,  Spanish,  and  French  languages. 

The  large  \v(n-k  is  designed  as  a  Text-book  for  Academies  and  Fe.male  Semina- 
ries-;  and  also  for  District  Schools  and  Family  Libraries.  The  email  work  being 
an  Abridgement  of  the  same,  is  designed  as  a  Text-look  for  Common  Scliools.  The 
originality  of  the  plan  consists  in  dividing  the  time  into  j)eriods,  of  which  the  begin- 
nings and  tenniiiations  are  marked  by  important  events ;  and  constructing  a  series 
of  maps  ilhistrating  the  progress  of  the  settlement  of  the  country,  and  the  regular 
advance  of  civilisation.  A  full  Chronological  Table  will  be  found,  in  which  all 
the  events  of  the  History  are  arranged  in  the  order  of  time.  There  is  appended  to 
the  work  the  Constitidion  of  the  United  States,  and  a  series  of  Questions  adapted  to 
each  chapter,  so  that  tlie  work  may  be  used  in  schools  and  for  private  instruction. 

Dwigh.t's  Mytliology  is  peculiarly  adapted  for  nso  as  a  Class-book  in  High 
Si-hools,  Academies,  and  Seminaries,  and  is  indispensable  to  a  thorough  acqnaintance 
with  Ancient  History,  and  to  a  proper  appreciation  of  the  classical  allusions  constantly 
occurring  in  the  writings  of  the  best  authors.  It  is  also  very  valuable  for  private 
reading  and  study. 

.Kicord's  Roman  History  is  also  designed  as  a  Text-book  for  Schools,  and 
for  private  reading  and  reference.  It  is  the  most  complete  and  condenseil  Hi-story  of 
the  Eomans  before  the  public,  and  will  be  found  exceedingly  interesting,  and  very 
Tjaluable  to  all,  especially  to  those  wishing  to  be  familiar  n'ith  the  classics. 

A.  S.  BABIES  &  BUBB.  Publishers, 

51  &  53  John  Street,  New  York. 


NATIONAL  SERIES  OF  STANDARD  SCHOOIcBOOKS. 

NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY  AND  CHEMISTRY. 

PARKER'S  PHILOSOPHY. 

PAKKER'S  JUVENILE  PIIILOSOPIIT Price  $0  25 

PAEKLUrS  FIKST  LESSONS  IN  PHILOSOPHY 0  87i 

PAKKER'S  COMPENDIUM  OF  SCHOOL  PHILOSOPHY 1  00 

The  present  edition  of  Parkek''8  School  Philosophy  has  been  corrected,  enlarged, 
and  improved,  and  contains  all  the  late  discoveries  and  improvements  in  the  science 
up  to  the  present  time.  It  contains  engravings  of  the  Boston  Scliool  set  of  apparatus, 
a  description  of  the  instruments,  and  an  account  of  many  experiments  which  can  be 
performed  b)  means  of  the  apparatus  ;  and  it  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  convenienoe 
of  study  and  recitation.  The  work  is  immensely  popular,  and  in  very  extensive  use, 
more  so  than  any  other  work  of  the  kind.  It  hufi  been  recommended  by  the  Super- 
intendents of  I'ublU;  Instruction  of  six  States,  and  is  the  Standard  Text-book  in 
all  the  principal  citits  of  the  United  Slates,  and  throughout  Canada  West. 

NORTON'S  FIRST  BOOK  OF  PHILOSOPHY  AND  ASTRONOMY $0  50 

By  William  A.  Norton,  M.  A.,  Professor  of  Civil  Engineering  in  Yale  College. 
Arranired  upon  the  catecliftical  plan,  and  coi)i()Usly  illustrated.  Designed  for 
Young  Pupils  commencing  the  study  of  the  science. 

THE  FIRST  BOOK  OF  SCIENCE— Two  Parts  in  One $1  00 

Part  I.  Natural  Philc^ophy  and  Astronomy.     Part  II.  Chemistry  antoj^llikd 

SciENOES.     By  W.  A.  Norton  and  J.  A.  Porter,  Professors  in  Yale  College. 
This  volume  treats  of  the  elements  of  Natural  Science,  and  is  designed  to  meet  the 
wants  of  young  persons  who  do  not  intend  to  pursue  a  complete  course  of  academical 
study.     It  is  designed  for  Public  and  Private  Schools,  and  will  be  found  admirably 
adapted  to  private  study,  and  home  instruction  in  familiar  science. 


BARTLETT'S  COLLEGE  PHLLOSOPHY. 

Bartlrtts  Synthetic  Mechanics.  $3  00  I  Bartleit's  Optics  and  Acoustics.  $2  00 

Bartlett's  Analytic  Mechanics..  4  00  |  Bartlktt's  Spherical  Astronomy.    3  00 

The  above  are  the  Text-books  in  the  U.  S.  Military  Academy  at  West  Point 


PORTER'S  SCHOOL  CHEMISTRY. 

FIRST  BOOK  OF  CHEMISTRY,  AND  ALLIED  SCIENCES,  including  an 
Outline  of  Agricultural  Chemistry.    By  Prof  John  A  Porter.     Price  50  cts. 

PRINCIPLES  OF  CHEMISTRY,  embracing  the  most  recent  Discoveries  in  the 
Science,  and  the  Outlines  of  its  Application  to  Agriculture  and  the  Arts — illus- 
trated by  numerous  experiments  newly  adapted  to  tl  e  simplest  apparatus.  By 
John  A.  Porter,  A.M..  M. D.,  Professor  of  Agricultural  and  Organic  Chemistry  in 
Yale  College.     Price  |1.00. 

These  works  have  been  prepared  expressly  for  Public  and  Union  Schools,  Academies, 
and  Seminaries,  where  an  extensive  course  of  study  on  this  subject  and  expensive 
apparatus  was  not  desired,  or  could  not  be  afforded.  A  fair,  practical  knowledge  of 
Chemistry  is  exceedingly  desirable,  and  almost  a  necessity,  at  the  present  day,  but  it 
has  been  taught  in  very  few  Public  or  Union  Schools,  owing  entirely  to  tlie  want  of 
suitable  text-books  adapted  to  simple  apparatus,  or  such  a.s  could  be  readily  obtained. 
It  is  confidently  believed  that  these  works  supply  this  great  want,  and  will  be  found 
in  every  respect  just  what  is  required.  Boxes  containing  all  the  apparatus  and  mate- 
rials necessary  to  perform  all  the  experiments  described  in  these  books,  can  be  ob- 
tained for  $8.00,  by  addressing  A.  S.  Barnes  &  Burr.  New  York. 
The  above  works  are  highly  recommended. 


PECK'S  ELEMENTS  OF  MECHANICS. 

This  volume  is  prepared  by  Prof.  W.  G.  Peck,  of  Columbia  College,  New  York. 
Price  $1.50. 

A.  S.  BARNES  &  BURR,  Publishers,  J^ 

51  &  53  John  Street,  New  York. 


NATIONAL  SERIES  OF  STANDARD  SCHOOL-BOOKS. 


MATHEMATICS. 

1.  Church's  Calculus,  elements  of  the  differen- 
tial AND  INTEGRAL  CALCULUS.  Containing  the  Elements 
of  the  Calculus  of  Variations.  Arranged  by  Albert  E.  Church, 
LL.D.,  Professor  of  Matiiematics  in  the  United  States  Military- 
Academy.     Price  $2.00. 

This  work  was  prepared  for  the  students  at  West  Point  Academy,  but  has  been 
introduced  into  many  other  institutions,  among  which  are  the  following: — Harvard 
College.  Cambridge;  Yale  College;  Georgetown  College;  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina; University  of  Michigan. 

2.  Church's  Analytical  Geometry,  elements  of  ana- 
lytical GEOMETRY.     By  Albkrt  E.  Church,  LL.D.     $2.00. 

From  Silliman''s  Journal  of  Science. 
For  a  beginner,  the  best  of  these  will,  quite  surely,  be  Prof.  Church's  recent  work. 
The  clearness  and  appropriate  character  of  his  instruction  to  fourteen  successive 
cla.sses  at  the  U.  8.  Military  Academy,  show  that  it  was  his  duty  to  improve  on  his 
predecessors.  We  think  he  ims  done  so  to  such  an  extent,  as  much  to  facilitate  the 
study  of  this  sulyect 

Courtenay's  Elements  of  Calculus,  the  differential 

AND  INTEGRAL  CALCULUS.  By  Edward  H.  Courtknay,  late 
Professor  of  Mathematics  in  the  University  of  Virginia.     $2.50. 

Hackley's  Trigonometry,  a  treatise  on  trigonom- 
etry, Plane  and  Spherical,  with  its  Application  to  Navigation 
and  Surveying,  Nautical  and  Practical  Astronomy  and  Geodesy, 
with  Logarithmic,  Trigonometrical,  and  Nautical  Tables.  By  Rev. 
Charles  W.  Hackley,  S.  T.  D.,  Professor  of  Mathematics  and  As- 
tronomy in  Columbia  College.     Price  $2.00. 

A  New  Treatise  on  Astronomy  and  the  Use  of  the 

Globes.  Containing  Definitions,  Motions  and  Positions  of  the 
Sun,  Moon,  and  Planets  ;  Kepler's  Laws,  and  the  Theory  of  Gravi- 
tation ;  Gravitation  ;  Refraction  ;  Twilight  and  Parallax  ;  Connec- 
tions, Periods.  Distances,  Phenomena,  and  Magnitudes  of  the  Heav- 
enly Bodies,  composing  the  Solar  System,  &c.  ;  also,  an  extensive 
collection  of  the  most  useful  Problems  on  the  Globes ;  illustrated 
by  a  suitable  variety  of  examples.  By  Jamks  McIntyre,  M.  D., 
Professor  of  Mathematics  and  Astronomy  in  the  Central  High 
School  of  Baltimore.     Price  $1.00. 

Practical  Examples  in  Arithmetic.    By  William  h.  Reuck, 

Princiital  of  Ward  School  No.  7  :  and  Professor  of  Mathematics  iu 
the  Male  Normal  School  of  New  Y'"ork.     Price  50  cents. 

Practical  Examples  in  Denominate  Numbers.   By  the 

same  Author.     Price  25  cents. 

A.  S.  BARNES  &  BURR,  Publishers, 

51  &  53  John  Street,  New  York. 


NATIONAL  SERIES  OE  STANDARD  SCHOOL-BOOKS. 

§raoks'  §m\\  aub  f  athi  Classics. 

This  series  of  the  Geekk  and  Latin  Classics,  by  N.  C.  Buooks,  of  Bultiraore,  is 
on  an  impr<>\  .tl  plan,  with  peculiar  adaptation  to  the  wants  of  tiie  American  student. 
To  secure  j  < curacy  of  text  in  the  works  that  are  to  ajipear,  the  latest  and  rwost 
approved  Em.ipean  editions  of  the  ditfercnt  classical  authors  are  consulted.  Original 
illustrative  anil  explanatory  notes,  prepared  by  the  Editor,  accompany  the  text. 
These  notes,  though  copious,  are  intended  to  direct  and  assist  thti  student  in  his 
labors,  rather  than,  by  rendering  everything  too  simple,  to  supersede  the  necessity 
of  due  exertion  on  his  own  part,  and  thus  induce  indolent  habits  of  study  and  reflec- 
tion, and  feebleness  of  intellect. 


BROOKS'  FIRST   IiATIIV  ZiSSSOSJS. 

riice  G'lh  cents. 
This  is  adapted  to  any  Grammar  of  the  language.     It  consists  of  a 
Grammar,  Reader,  and  Dictionary  combined,  and  will  enable  any  one 
to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  Elements  of  the  Latin  language  without 
an  instructor. 

2B.OOIIS'  OVXD'S   IMEISTAmORrKOSIlS. 

8vo.  Price  $2.50. 
This  edition  of  Ovid  is  expurgated,  and  freed  from  objectionable 
matter.  It  is  elucidated  by  an  analysis  and  explanation  of  the  Fables, 
together  with  original  English  Notes,  historical,  mythological,  and 
critical,  and  illustrated  by  pictorial  embellishments  ;  with  a  Clavis 
giving  the  meaning  of  all  the  words  with  critical  exactness.  Each 
Fable  contains  a  plate  from  an  original  design,  and  an  illuminated 
initial  letter. 

BROOKS'  FIRST  GRISEB:  LESSOR'S. 

12mo.     Price  C2^  cents. 
This  Greek  elementary  is  on  the  same  pla»  as  the  Latin  Lessons, 
and  affords  equal  facilities  to  the  student.    The  paradigm  of  the  Greek 
verb  has  been  greatly  simplified,  and  valuable  exercises  in  compara- 
tive philology  introduced. 

BROOKS'  GREEK  COLLECTANEA  EV ANGELICA. 

12mo.     Price  62|  cents. 
This  consists  of  portions  of  the  Four  Gospels  in  Greek,  arranged  in 
Chronological  order  ;  and  forms  a  connected  history  of  the  principal 
events  in  the  Saviour's  life  and  ministry.     It  contains  a  Lexicon,  and 
is  illustrated  and  explained  by  notes. 

BROOKS'   HISTORIA    SACRA.     Price  62^  cents. 

BROOKS'  C^SAR  IIiIiUSTRAT£D.    Price  $1.25. 

A.  S.  BARNES  &  BURR,  Publishers, 

51  &  53  JoJin  Street,  New  York. 


NATIONAL  SERIES  OF  STANDARD  SCHOOL-BOOKS. 


ELOCUTION. 

The  following  Series  of  SCHOOL  SPEAKERS,  now  in  course  of 
publication,  compose 

NORTHEND'S  NEW  SERIES. 

1,  THE  LITTLE  ORATOR; 

OR, 

FRIIVEAB.'S'    SCaOOIi    SFEAKER. 

By  Charles  Nobthend,  A.  M.,  Author  of  "  Teacher  and  Parent,"  and 
"  Teachers'  Assistant."     Price  30  cents. 

"  This  is  a  nice  little  book,  full  of  nice  little  pieces  for  the  little  folks  to  speak  and 
recite.  The  compiler  has  aimed  to  select  pieces  adapted  to  the  capacities  of  children 
under  twelve  years  of  age,  and  at  the  same  time  to  have  the  matter  such  as  will 
make  proper  moral  impressions.  We  think  he  has  succeeded.'' — ITew  Hampshire 
Journal  of  Education. 

2.  NORTHEND'S   NATIONAL    ORATOR.     Price  75  cents. 

3.  NORTHEND'S    ENTERTAINING    DIALOGUES    FOR 

YOUTH.     Price  75  cents. 

4.  NATIONAL  UNIVERSITY  ORATOR     (In  press.) 


AIDS   FOE  THE  TEACHEK. 

SCHOOL  MANUAL  OF  DEVOTION ;  or,  Keligious  Exercises 
for  the  Morning  and  Evening  of  each  Day  in  the  Month.  By  N.  C. 
Brooks,  President  of  Baltimore  Female  College.     Price  38  cents. 

"  We  are  exceedingly  well  pleased  with  this  little  book,  the  only  one  we  have  ever 
seen  for  the  same  purpose  that  has  met  our  approval.  There  are  nearly  seventy 
exercises,  or  lessons.  Each  exercise  consists  of  two  suitable  hymns,  followed  by 
Scripture  verses  to  be  read  alternately  by  teacher  and  pupils,  and  also  by  an  appro- 
priate form  of  prayer.  We  most  cordially  commend  it." — Connecticut  Common 
School  Journal. 

SCHOOL  TEACHERS'  REGISTER.  Prepared  by  N.  C.  Brooks, 
for  the  Teacher  to  record  the  Names  and  Standing  of  each  Pupil. 
Price  ( 0  cents. 

A.  S.  BARNES  &  BURR,  Publishers, 

51  &  53  John  Street,  New  York.   ( 


LINIVEKSITY   OK   CALIFORNIA   LIBKAKY 


nationa: 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


THE  EN  \^ 


..^^^ 


MILT( 

The  Publishe 
PoKTS  to  the  pill 
in  sflectiiij;  book 
schools,  and  ch-se 
belter  express  tht 
copying  h,  portio 
son's  Skasons:  — 

"In  this  age, " 
literature,  there  i 
not  entirely  lose 
which  have  been 
Thomson  and  Co- 
qiient  and  profo 
which  they  coiita 
display ;  and  for 
■proper  culture  q 


3 


IN  STACKS 


The  Par. 

planatory 
Elements  o 


2.  Wight  T 

By  Edwar 
Critical  Vie 
Jamks  R.  E 

3.  The  Tas 

COWPKR.       ' 

Genius  anc 
Rev.  James 


fE 


IN  STACKS 

SEP  2  6 1965 


Mi    '66^  OR  CD 


0^C7.,5^^ 


^^ 


28fa«'65WC     £  EC  20 '66  »lpM 


LOAN  DEPT.^ 

M 


UOAN  DEPT. 


The  See 

tions  of  vaj^cn  \  O   t966  6  8 

Critical  an^  *"  '"^ 

School  Edil 


30m-6,'14 


5.  The  Course  lif  Time. 


By  Robert  Pollok.  With  Notes, 
Critical  and  Explanatory.  By  Rev.  James  R.  Boyd.  Price  $1.00. 
School  Edition  62^  ct^;. 

""  Library  Editions  of  the  foregoing  Volumes  are  also  published  in  various 
Styles  of  Binding,  in  Svo  form,  xcith  Handsome  Illustrations. 

A.  S.  BARNES  &  BURR,  Publishers, 

51  &  53  John  Street,  New  York. 


NATION. 


ouxiUUL-BOOKS. 


RAILROADS   AND   STEAM. 


GiLiiZssrxz:  on  b.oads  aitd 

A  MANUAL  OF  ROAD  MA] 
Comprising  the  Principles  and  Practice  of  tj 
and  Improvement  of  Roads  (Common, 
and  Railroads.     By  W.  M.  Gillespie, 
giYieering  in  Union  College.     Price/ 
From  Prof.  Maiian,  of  tlie 
I  have  very  carefully  looked  over  Professoj 
is,  ill  all  respects,  the  best  work  on  this  sub^ 
from  its  arrangeiiieiit.  comprehensiveness, 
of  Students  of  Civil  Engineering,  and 
the  construction  or  supervision  of  roaj 
years  earlier,  would  have  been  a  tr 
introduction  into  our  seminaries 
]irinciples  and  practice  of  !!■  -  ■  r 
all  classes  of  the  community. 
Repnri  ^''  ■ 
This  work  contains, 
ot  ;his  most  importa:,: 
on  this  subject :^ 


AXI1B.OADS. 


m.  Construction, 
ived,  Plank,  &c.) 
sor  of  Civil  Eu- 


my. 

"Koad-inaking.  It 
ac'quftinted;  being, 
lapted  to  the  wants 
ny  way  engaged  in 
■1  a  work,  twenty 
>  be  hoped  that  its 
knowledge  of  the 
s  its  importance  to 


destined  to  c 
oiiirht  not  to  b 
iwperimeiu.s. 


!i   incient  and  modern, 
cliL-  ureat  mass  of  writers 
1  service  for  those  who  are 
'  'i_'lit  to  be  done,  but  what 
•  ,  iiioiu-y,  and  loss  of  time  iu 
.end  ic  to  tlie  public. 
xul  Journal. 
cal,  and  should  be  read* by  the  people 
.(.■  land.  .  .  .  We  recommend  this  Manual 
-'iiKiking,  and  to  the  young  men  of  ihe 
oil  ill  relation  to  each  department  of  ruad- 
icm  in  afte/-lifo. 
rican  Journal  of  Science. 
If  the  weli-c.staMisiiea  priiicii<ies  ot  Koad-making.  which  are  so  plainly  set  forth 
in  Professor  Gillespie's  valuable  work,  and  so  well  illustrated,  could  be  once  put  into 
general  use  in  this  country,  every  traveller  would  bear  testimony  to  the  fact  that  the 
author  is  a  great  public  benefactor.  \ 


LARDXER  OX  THE  STEAM-EXGIXE. 

THE  STSAZ^-XSSrG-IVrE,  Familiarly  Explained  and 
Illustratku  :  with  an  Historical  Sketch  of  its  Invention  and  Pro- 
gressive Improvement ;  its  applications  to  Navigation  and  Rail- 
ways ;  with  plain  Maxims  for  Railway  Speculators. 

By  the  Rev.  Dionysius  Lakdner,  LL.D.,  F.R.S., 
Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh;  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy;   of  the 
Royal  Astronomical  Society  ;  of  the  Cambridge  Philosophical  Society  ;  of  the 
Statistical  Society  of  Paris;  of  the  Linnsean  and  Zoological  Societies; 
of  the  Society  for  promoting  Useful  Arts  in  Scotland,  &c. 
With  Additions  and  Notes,  by  James  Renwick,  LL.D.,  Professor  of 
Natural  Experimental  Philosophy  and  Chemistry  in  Columbia  Col- 
lege, New  Yoik.     Illustrated  Ijy  Engravings.     1  vol.  8vo.     $1.50. 
This  volume  should  more  properly  be  called  a  new  work  than  a  new  etiition  of  the 
former  one.     In  fact,  the  book  has  been  almost  rewritten.    The  change  which  has 
taken  place,  even  in  the  short  period  which  has  elapsed  since  the  publication  of  the 
first  e<lition,  in  the  relation  of  the  steam-engine  to  the  useful  arts,  has  been  so  con- 
siderable as  to  render  this  inevitable. 

A.  S.  BARNES  &  BURR,  Publishers, 

51  &  53  John  Street,  Wew  York.  ' 


:^><r^s  ,iHK-  wa>^ 


cStauda;  t 


cncoi  3oo'is 

L-I&53  JOHN  ST.  N.Y 


1.    SPELLING,  ^    IDIXCr,  AND  ELOCUTION. 


«.  PAKKiiB   AND   J.  MADISON   WATSON. 

Parker's  Ehetorical  Reader. 
Smith's  Juvenile  Dcflner. 
Smith's  Grammar-School  Spell 
Sraitli's  Definer's  Manual. 
Wi'ight's  Analytical  Orthography. 
Day's  Art  oi  Elocution. 
High  School  Literature. 
Tho  National  Elementary  Speller.  I  Brooks'  School  Manual  of  Devotion. 

2.    ENGLISH  GRAMMAR,  RHETORIC,   &c. 


The  National  School  Primer. 
The  National  First  Reador. 
The  National  Second  Reader. 
The  National  Third  Reader. 
The  National  Fourth  Reader. 
Th'>  National  Fifth  Reader. 
The  National  Pronouncing  Speller 


Clark's  First  Lessons  in  Gram  to  ar. 
Clark's  New  English  Grammar. 
Clark's  Analysis  of  the  English  Language. 
Welch's  Ana'lysis  of  the  English  Sentt^nco. 
Mahan's  Science  of  Loixic,  for  Colleges. 
Mahan's  Intellectual  Philosophy. 
Day's  Art  of  Rhetoric. 


Willard's  Morals  for  th«  Yonng. 
Boyd's  Karnes'  Elements  of  Criticism. 
Boyd's  Milton's  Paradise  Lost. 
Boyd's  Pollok's  Course  of  Time. 
Boyd's  Cowper's  Task,  »fec 
Boyd's  Thomson's  Seasons. 
Boyd's  Young's  Niuht  Thourrhts. 


3.    MONTEITH  AND  McNALLY'S  SERIES  OF  GEOGRi- :  :i:il 

Monteith's  First  Lessons  in  Geocraphy.        I  Mouteith's  Manual  of  Geof;raphy. 
Montcith's  Introduction  to  the  jJanual.        |  McNally's  Couiplete  Sciiool  Geography. 

4.  DA  VIES'  SERIES  OF  ARITHMETIC*;  AND  HIGHER  MATHEMATICS. 

Davies'  Primary  Arithmetic. 
Davies'  Intellectual  Arithmelic. 
Davies'  First  Lessons  in  Ariti  nietic. 
Davies'  New  School  A  I'lthme  ..ic. 
Davies'  New  Universiiy  Ari! Emetic. 
Davies'  Gramriar  of  Arilhmetio. 
Davies'  Elementary  Alnehr 
Davies'  Elementary  Geirne.iy. 
Davies'  Practical  Mathematics. 
Davies'  University  Algebra. 

6.    HISTORY  AND  MYTHOLOGY,  &c. 
Monteith's  Youth's  llist.  of  United  States.      Kicord's  Roman  History ;  with  Engr;i  In^d. 
Willard's  School  Hist  of  the  United  States. 
Willard's  Large  Hist,  of  the  United  States. 
Willard's  Universal  Historj  in  Perspective. 

6.    SCIENTIFIC  DEPARTMENT 

Parker's  Juvenile  Philosophy .  L*art 


Davies'  Bourdon's  Algebra. 
Davies'  Legendre's  Geometry. 
Davies'  Elements  of  Surveying. 
Davies'  Diffeiential  and  Integral  Calculus. 
Davies'  Analytical  Geometry. 
])avies'  Descriptive  Geometry. 
L-ivies'  Shade"  and  Shadows. 
Davies'  Logic  uf  Mathematics. 
Davies'  and  Peck's  Dictionary  of  Mathe- 
matics. 


Gould's  Alison's  History  of  Europe. 
Mills'  History  of  the  Ancient  Hebrews. 
Dwight's  Grecian  and  Roman  K'yth  jlogy 


Parker's  Juvenile  Philosophy,  Part  II. 
Parker's  Natural  Philosophy,    i'art  III. 


Nortoi  *s  First  Book  of  Natural  Philosophy. 
Porter's  First  Book  of  Chemistry. 
Norton  and  Porters  First  Book  of  Science. 
Porters  Principles  of  Chemistry. 
Peck's  ■'■.laments  of  Mechanics. 
DarLy's  Southern  BoUniy. 

',.    PROFESSOR  BROOKS'  CLASSICS. 

j  Brocks'  Ovid's  Metamorphoses, 
Brooks'  Historia  Sacra 


Mclntyre  on  Astronomy  and  t\  e  Globes, 
liartlett's  Acoustics  and  Optics. 
Biirtlett's  Synthetical  Mechanics. 
Bartiett's  Analytical  Mechanics. 
Bi.rtlett's  Spherical  Astronomy. 
Church's  Elements  of  Calculus. 
Church's  Analytical  Geometry. 
Courtenay's  Elements  of  Calculus. 


Brooks'  First  Latin  Lessons. 
Brooks'  First  Greek  Lessons. 


Brooks'  Caesar,  with  illustrations. 


Brooks'  Collectanea  Evangelic*. 
Thh  School  Teacher's  Libeabt  :  in  7  vols. — Brooks'  School  Teacher's  Registeb. 


